A US survey of vending machines in middle schools and high schools finds that
75% of the drinks and 85% of the snacks sold are of poor nutritional value.
A US survey of vending machines in middle schools and high schools finds that
75% of the drinks and 85% of the snacks sold are of poor nutritional value. The
study, of 1,420 vending machines in 251 schools, was organized by the Center
for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and conducted by 120 volunteers.
CSPI contends that all foods sold out of vending machines, school stores, and
other venues outside of the official school lunch program should make positive
contributions to children’s diets and health.
Soda and low-nutrition snack foods are a key source of excess calories in
children’s diets, contribute to overweight and obesity, and displace more
nutritious foods. Obesity rates have doubled in children and tripled in
adolescents over the last two decades. Studies show that children’s soft drink
intake has increased, and children who drink more soft drinks consume more
calories and are more likely to be overweight than kids who drink fewer soft
drinks.
The survey "Dispensing junk: how school vending undermines efforts to
feed children well" (pdf)
examined vending in a wide range of schools in 24 US States. The assessors
counted the number of slots in each machine and categorised the contents of each
slot using a standard form. The number of slots containing each product was
expressed as a percentage of the total number of slots surveyed. CSPI analysed
the forms. It categorised foods as healthier and less healthful using
nutritional standards for school foods developed by the California
Center for Public Health Advocacy. Fruit juice with at least 50% real juice,
low fat or skimmed milk, diet sodas, low fat crisps, fruit, vegetables, trail
mix, cereal bars are examples of healthier foods and drinks. Soda drinks, whole
milk, sports drinks, iced tea, lemonade, crisps, sweets, biscuits, cakes and
pastries were considered less healthful.
Of the drinks sold in the 13,650 vending-machine slots surveyed, 70% were
sugary drinks such as soda, juice drinks with less than 50% juice, iced tea, and
"sports" drinks. Of the sodas, only 14% were diet, and only 12% of the
drinks available were water. Just 5% of drinks were milk but of those, most
(57%) were high-fat whole or 2% milk.
Of the snack foods sold in the machines, candy (42%), chips (25%) and sweet
baked goods (13%) accounted for 80% of the options. Of 9,723 snack slots in all
the vending machines surveyed, only 26 slots contained fruits or vegetables.
While the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) sets detailed standards for
nutrient content and portion sizes for the official school meals, it currently
has little authority to regulate foods sold outside those meals, whether in
vending machines or a la carte (snack) lines in cafeterias says CSPI. According
to CSPI, Congress needs to give USDA more authority to regulate such foods in
order to preserve the integrity of the federal school lunch program, in which
the federal government invests $8.8 billion a year.
Despite the financial pressures on school systems that lead them to sell junk
food in the first place, some schools are voluntarily setting higher nutrition
standards for vending machine foods says CSPI. These schools are not
experiencing a drop-off in revenue by switching to healthier foods.
Contact: Center for Science in the Public Interest, 1875 Connecticut Ave.
N.W. Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20009, USA
Tel: +1 (202) 332-9110
Fax: +1 (202) 265-4954
Email: cspi@cspinet.org