Less Sugar in School Drinks
The World Heart Federation has long campaigned for the world’s leading soft-drink makers to refrain from selling their sugary products in schools. Finally one of them—PepsiCo, the second-largest soda pop maker in the world—has agreed to do just that. Sort of. According to the Associated Press, it will remove full-calorie, sweetened drinks from primary and secondary schools in 200 countries by 2012. Pekka Puska, President of the Finland-based federation, says that outside the U.S. the marketing of sugary drinks in schools is intense, especially in developing countries like Mexico. It called for a ban, citing rising childhood obesity rates.
The world’s biggest soft-drink maker, Coca-Cola, earlier this month promised not to sell sugary products in primary schools “unless parents or districts ask,” the AP says. But it will continue to sell them in secondary schools. In primary schools, PepsiCo says, it will sell only water, low-fat and skim milk, and pure juices. In secondary schools, it will continue to sell low-calorie sodas, like Diet Pepsi. One big caveat: it will also continue to sell “sports drinks,” which are highly sugared, to student athletes. That should help keep them fit.
Filed under: K-12 Education News
