State, schools act to curb childhood obesity
Published: September 23, 2005
An epidemic of obesity among young people nationwide has united parents, educators and state officials in an effort to improve the health and well-being of young Californians.
Two bills that limit the fat and sugar content of foods and beverages sold at California schools were signed by the governor Sept. 15 in Sacramento. Gov. Schwarzenegger took advantage of a summit on health, nutrition and obesity issues to spotlight the legislation and the need to help young people develop healthy habits as part of his Shape Up California initiative.
The California School Boards Association co-sponsored Senate Bill 12 by Democrat Martha Escutia of Whittier, which sets fat, sugar and calorie limits for entrée and snack items. Specifically, the new standards state that foods sold at school must have no more than 35 percent of calories from fat, 10 percent of calories from saturated fat, and 35 percent of their weight from sugar. Snack items cannot exceed 175 calories for elementary schools and 250 calories for middle and high schools. Certain foods, such as nuts and fresh fruits, are exempt, as is food the students bring from home and foods sold as part of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.
The standards, which were established by a panel of health experts and dieticians, create a model for improved nutritional offerings to students in all schools in California and do not take effect until July 2007.
Senate Bill 965, also by Escutia, revises and extends 2003 legislation by phasing out soda sales in high schools. By July 1, 2009, beverages sold at all schools must be low-sugar (50 percent) fruit- or vegetable-based drinks, water, milk, or electrolyte replacement beverages. CSBA supported the bill.
Several California school districts have taken the lead by adopting policies to limit the sale of sugary beverages and junk food. Policies adopted by the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education took effect last year. Board President Marlene Canter applauded the Legislature for recognizing the issue.
"We were one of the first school districts in the nation to ban soda and junk food sales on campus,” said Canter. “The efforts at the state mark a tipping point as we begin to see the movement to eliminate the childhood obesity epidemic take hold across the nation."
The district’s experience with banning soft drink sales is recounted in CSBA’s “Healthy Food Policy Resource Guide” at www.csba.org/ps/hfp_secV.pdf. A new version of the guide, retitled “Student Wellness: A Healthy Food and Physical Activity Policy Resource Guide” is now available. Both publications are the result of a collaboration between CSBA and California Project LEAN.
For the past five years, CSBA has been working to bring the issue of childhood obesity to the attention of school boards and county offices of education. Every board president and superintendent in the state was recently provided a copy of the “Student Wellness” guide.
“We are committed to working with California Project LEAN in providing training and other assistance to boards throughout the state, as well as to other state school board associations, so they have the policy resources they need to address the childhood obesity epidemic,” said Martin Gonzalez, CSBA Assistant Executive Director for Governance and Policy Services. “Schools can play a part in solving this critical issue.”
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