In an effort to tackle the rising obesity problem in American youth, the US Institute of Medicine (IOM) has issued a voluntary nutrition standard for “competitive” food and drinks sold in schools alongside the healthy school meals program which is already covered by federal nutrition guidelines.
The rise in US childhood obesity prompted a concerned Congress to approach the IOM to recommend standards for school food.
The aim is to improve the health of all children in school by encouraging them to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains and avoid added sugar, salt and saturated fat.
Virginia Stallings, head of the IOM committee that prepared the report, which was sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said:
“The alarming increase in childhood obesity rates has galvanized parents and schools across the nation to find ways to improve children’s diets and health, and we hope our report will assist that effort.”
Currently there are three sources of food in American schools: school meals, “competitive” foods, and the food the children bring from home, in lunch boxes for example.
School meals are served through the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program and are already covered by federal nutrition standards.
“Competitive” food is not covered by enforceable guidelines and is available in cafeterias alongside the school meals and also in vending machines. It include sugary drinks, doughnuts, candy, ice cream and salty snacks such as potato chips.
The new standards are aimed at competitive food and do not cover the food that children bring to school from home.
The IOM recommends a 2-tier system.
Tier 1
Tier 1 covers children of all ages, from elementary to high school all the time they are at school, including after school activity time.
Examples of criteria for tier 1:
— At least one serving of fruit, vegetable, whole grain, non-fat or low fat dairy food.
— Sugar should form no more than 35 per cent of total calories.
— No snack should have more than 200 calories per portion.
— No more than 200 milligrams of sodium per snack portion or 480 milligrams per a la carte entrée item.
— Fat should form no more than 35 per cent of the total calorie value of a food item.
— Total ban on items containing trans fats.
— Juice drinks limited to 4-ounce servings in elementary and middle, 8-ounce serving in high schools.
— Water should be freely available, tap or bottled.
These criteria would favour food and beverages such as apples, dried fruit, baby carrots, low-sugar cereals, low-fat with low sugar yogurt, turkey sandwich, water, skimmed milk, soya drinks, 100 per cent fruit and vegetable juices (in the restricted quantities because of their high calorie value).
Sports drinks can be issued to athletes under the supervision of their coach. They are considered too sugary and high in calories to be generally available through the school day.
The IOM committee said it did not support the sale of caffeinated products to schoolchildren because of “the potential for negative effects, including headaches, moodiness, and other results that could disrupt students’ abilities to concentrate and learn”.
Tier 2
Tier 2 food and drinks would only be available in high schools outside of the regular school day.
Tier 2 food standards do not require that one serving of fruit, vegetable, whole grain, non-fat or low fat dairy food is available but they do require that all available food meets the 35 per cent maximum of total calorie value on fat and sugar and no more than 200 calories per portion.
Examples of Tier 2 food and drink include low-sodium whole wheat crackers, graham crackers, pretzels, caffeine-free diet soda, and seltzer water.
The School Nutrition Association (SNA) said that while it supported the IOM Committee’s recommendations, it was concerned that because the standards are only voluntary, they will have little effect.
President of the SNA, Janey Thornton said that:
“The IOM report is a very important contribution to the fight against childhood overweight, but any voluntary standard will only work if the Congress backs it up with an enforceable national nutrition standard through legislation.”
The current status of the standards is that they will be made available to schools to implement themselves.
The New York Times today reports that Democrat Senator Tom Harkin, of Iowa, co-sponsor of the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act, said he might put the report’s recommendations in this year’s farm bill.
Click here for free 8-page brief summary of the IOM report (PDF reader required).
Written by: Catharine Paddock
Writer: Medical News Today