You know the drill. Someone’s fat, and someone else comes to the conclusion that the fat person got that way by stuffing his or her face with cheesecake or donuts or what have you.
Not so fast.
News Flash: Soda Is Fattening
Add a report from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition to the growing list of evidence that sugary soft drinks are adding pounds to kids. The report, a meta-analysis of others’ scientific research, says one extra can of soda a day can translate into 15 pounds a year. The report concludes: “Although more research is needed, sufficient evidence exists for public health strategies to discourage consumption of sugary drinks as part of a healthy lifestyle.”
And, as certain as night follows day, the sugar industry begs to differ.
Doesn’t take much to get fat if one spreads the calories out. There are only about 140 calories in a can of sugared soda, and most people can down one or two without giving a thought to the calories, and without any sensation of satiety.
I’ve written before about the rise of vending machines in schools beginning in the 80s as a means of making up for budget cuts. Some schools even have fast-food franchises and fountain sodas in their cafeterias, and exclusive deals with various junk food companies to supply schools with sodas, sugary drinks and snacks — in exchange for advertising space and a chance to hook consumers when they’re young (though some schools have pulled these deals or forced the removal of all non-diet and sweetened drinks). Now USA Today reports that there’s a kid-focused radio station that will be played on school buses in 11 states, with advertising aimed at children.
Bus Radio will broadcast age-appropriate ads and music by pop singers such as Kelly Clarkson, Yanoff says. Content varies by riders’ ages. He would not name participating schools or advertisers but says products will cover entertainment, apparel, electronics, education and health.
Opponents of advertising to children object to the programming.
“This is a marketing ploy” aimed at “sedating” kids, says Susan Linn, a psychologist with the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a Boston-based group.
“Advertisers love marketing in school, because children are a captive audience. This extends that to the school bus,” says Linn. “Kids are already bombarded with advertising.” She says ads are linked to childhood obesity, underage drinking, violence and other problems.
Mighty cagey about who those advertisers are going to be, hmm? If I were a parent of a child whose kid rode one of these buses, I’d sure as hell like to know what kind of advertising the school was planning on pumping at my kid while trapped on a school bus (not to mention what kind of sanitized, sappy music they’re going to be hearing).
For all the weeping and wailing about the “obesity epidemic,” particularly among kids, and what it means, and what the kids and their parents are doing wrong, there’s been a lack of focus on certain glaring structural problems, most of which are related to money. To their credit, many school systems are working to eliminate sugary sodas from their vending machines and cafeterias (though keeping juice and artificially sweetened diet drinks around is no bargain nutritionally), and some, like New York City, are getting rid of whole milk. Beverages are one of those things that can help you pack on pounds without realizing it because you don’t really think of the calories as you’re consuming them. To wit:
If you thought you were being nutritionally virtuous by stopping at Starbucks instead of McDonald’s, the Center for Science in the Public Interest says, “Wrong!’’
A venti — or 20-ounce — Caffè Mocha with whipped cream has 490 calories, equivalent to a Quarter Pounder with cheese. And a 24-ounce Java Chip Frappuccino with whipped cream has 650 calories, not to mention almost an entire day’s allowance of saturated fat.
According to the center, a nutritional advocacy group, the Frappuccino is equivalent in calories to a McDonald’s coffee plus 11 of their creamers and 29 packets of sugar.
But there remain other problems related to budget cuts at schools, such as the elimination of a lot of recess time and gym classes. I, personally, hated gym, but I got to take it. Some school systems bus everyone to school, no matter how close they live. Some schools don’t have much in the way of space for kids to run around in.
And of course, there’s the problem of availability of nutritious food where the students live. If their families live in inner-city neighborhoods, they may not be able to obtain fresh food because there are no stores there selling it. If their families depend on WIC to supplement their groceries, until recently they had to eat a lot of milk and cheese.
Finally, there’s the little matter of corporate interests. The sugar industry has an interest in denying that sugary drinks are fattening. The soda industry has an interest in getting their products into school early so that the kids build brand loyalty while they’re young. The advertisers of Bus Radio — whoever they may be — have an interest in getting access to consumers while they’re young and while they’re a captive audience.