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Programs that teach school children why soft drinks are bad for them canhelp kids reduce their consumption and help reduce childhood obesity,according to a study published recently in the British MedicalJournal.
During a year-long education program, children at six junior high schoolsin England were told that drinking more water and less soda would improvetheir dental health as well as their physical well-being. At the end of theyear, obesity among those who had not received the educational program hadgone up by 7.5%, whereas those who had taken part in the program saw a slightreduction in the prevalence of obesity (0.2%). The children who receivededucation counseling reported drinking fewer sodas throughout the year.
The research comes on the heels of a policy statement released by theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics in January calling on schools to eliminate softdrink vending machines because of the rising epidemic of obesity amongAmerican children.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), added sugars makeup roughly 20% of total food energy intake for American kids. Soft drinkscontribute no nutritional value and are high in sugar; the USDA reports 56% to85% of children in the United States consume at least one soda on any givenday.
Many schools in the United States sign contracts with soft drink vendorsthat give them a share of the proceeds for school activities in exchange forplacing the machines in school cafeterias. In an effort to be more healthconscious, some have replaced soda machines with juice machines in recentyears.
However, health professionals say juice machines aren't much better when itcomes to helping kids maintain a healthy weight.
"They are both calorie-dense beverages," said Ann Albright, asenior health policy fellow in the Office of the United States Surgeon Generaland diabetes specialist at the University of California, San Francisco."If it's a high-calorie beverage, it's not really healthy. Water is abetter option."
Albright said schools don't have to eliminate vending machines and thefunds that come with them. However, they should replace "junkfood" machines with machines that hold healthier snacks and no-calorieflavored waters. "It is possible to put fruit in vendingmachines," she added.
Teaching kids how to make better food choices is also key, she said,although explaining to them the risk of developing diabetes or heart diseasemight not be effective.
"They aren't thinking about that," she said. "You have totalk to them about having a healthy outlook and a healthy body, about fuelingyour ability to be a better athlete or to be more physically active. These aremessages that ring true with them."
Even more important, said Albright, is to lead by example. "Kids paya lot more attention to what you do than what you say," shesaid.
That advice extends to doctors and other health care providers, saidAlbright. "When kids walk into health care facilities, they should nothave crud in their vending machines, either." 
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  K. Mikhailovich and P. Morrison Discussing childhood overweight and obesity with parents: a health communication dilemma J Child Health Care, December 1, 2007; 11(4): 311 - 322. [Abstract] [PDF]
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