Trading kids' health for school revenue
Brian Steinberg
The Beaufort Gazette
April 10, 2008
A bill that
would have banned fatty foods and drinks from public
schools' vending machines died in the state House on
Tuesday, mainly because the proposal also required that
new nutritional standards apply not only to public
schools' vending machines, but to their concession
stands during sporting events or other after-school
functions.
The bill would have banned all soda from vending
machines and allowed only for the sale of granola bars,
nuts and other nutritional snacks -- no more Snickers,
Cheetos or Ding Dongs. Only snacks under 200 calories
would be allowed.
The bill also would have set much-needed higher
nutritional standards for cafeteria meals, such as
offering foods that derive less than 35 percent of their
calories from fat.
It's no secret that vending and concessions equal money
for schools. Some schools even allow popular soft drink
and other major vendors to sponsor equipment, such as
sports score boards or allow for billboard advertising
on campus. Rep. Michael Anthony, D-Spartanburg, a
retired football coach, told The State newspaper in
Columbia that food revenue "is a big financial piece,"
and that one year, his school earned $13,000 in
refreshment sales in just five months.
It's pathetic that athletic programs and school budgets,
among other things, must rely on outside revenue to
operate, but it's rueful when we're selling out kids'
health to do it. The eating habits established early in
life have a profound effect through adulthood --
especially when one reaches adulthood only to find out
that the pounds stop coming off as easily, if at all.
America has an eating disorder, and we all know it.
Centers of Disease Control and Prevention data show
again and again that obesity is on the rise, with nearly
20 percent of South Carolina's adult population being
clinically obese -- that is, having a body mass index
greater than 30. BMI is the weight of a person relative
to his or her height. While obese is considered 30 or
greater, a BMI of 25 is overweight.
Today, about 15 percent of American children and
adolescents can be classified as obese, according to the
CDC, and those numbers are on the rise. Worse, the
numbers will continue to rise until we teach children
and lead with a healthy example. As waistlines grow, so
do health problems. In the end, decreasing health means
increasing medical bills and insurance premiums. Obesity
leads to hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, stroke,
hypothyroidism, gout, cancer, incontinence, pregnancy
and fertility complications -- even death.
Legislators had a chance to help our children, and they
blew it. Quentin Cavanaugh, Greenville County Schools'
marketing and training specialist, told the House panel
that some of the high schools in his district earn as
much as $70,000 from vending machine sales each year,
according to The State. He added, "None of "the
principals' want to sell this stuff. But they need the
revenue." Shame on us for making bad decisions about
kids' health.