National Soft Drink Association Media BackgrounderAnnual Meeting of the American Dietetic Association"Putting the Issues into Context"October 16, 2000
Overview
Thirty years ago one of the most important issues facing our country was hunger and nutrient deficiency. While both remain important public health issues today, the growing numbers of children and adults who are obese present a major public health challenge to government, educators and the food and beverage industry. Partnerships between government policy makers, research scientists, dieticians, educators and the industry play a vital role in addressing this important issue.
While there are many societal reasons for the increase in the incidence of obesity, the initial solution is a renewed commitment to daily physical activity and eating a varied, moderate and balanced diet in which there is a place for all foods. Stripped of all the rhetoric, the best approach is as simple as "calories taken in should be equal to or less than calories burned."
Physical Activity Is the Key
Physical activity plays a key role in disease prevention. It not only helps maintain healthy weight, but physical activity also reduces the risks of heart disease, diabetes, etc. Current physical activity levels among children and adults are inadequate, which contributes to an unacceptable increase in obesity rates.
Schools must play a significant role by teaching physical activity skills and attitudes that last a lifetime. Unfortunately, the large majority of schools across the nation are failing to provide this essential component of a well-rounded education. For example, according to the 1999 California Physical Fitness Test, 80 percent of fifth, seventh and ninth graders were unable to meet minimum fitness standards. Nutrition educators and policy makers should work with the education community to increase the amount of physical activity provided to children in grades K-12.
Parents Want The Schools To Do Better
A recent survey, "Public Attitudes Toward Physical Education: Are Schools Providing What the Public Wants," conducted for the National Association for Sport and Physical Education by Opinion Research Corporation International of Princeton, NJ, illustrates the problem:
* 81% of adults believe that "daily physical education should be mandatory in schools." Nearly three-quarters (71%) of teens agree. However, only about 25 percent of students attend physical education class daily or participate in any daily physical activity, while the percentage of children who are overweight or obese has more than doubled in the last 30 years.
* When asked to name what teens think they should be learning in physical education class, half (52%) responded that they should be learning how to stay fit. Other top mentions included learning skills and rules for different physical activities (20%) and learning how their body works (10%).
* Adults with children in the household believe that their children are not fit primarily because of lack of interest or motivation (24%), not enough time (13%) and watching television (13%).
Variety, Moderation and Balance Is Still The Best Advice
The cornerstone of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) nutritional foundation that a healthy diet incorporates the basic principles of variety, balance, and moderation remains strong. There is general scientific agreement that dieticians should stress there are no good foods and bad foods. However, there are good diets and bad diets.
"Rather than being taught to avoid certain foods, students should be taught ways to incorporate all foods into a healthy diet that is based on the principles of variety, balance, and moderation. Based on my experience with patients, I know prohibiting or restricting certain foods sends the wrong message and will not work," said Lisa Mosing, MS, RD, FADA. Ms. Mosing from Fullerton, California, has spent more than 17 years counseling patients on weight management and fitness issues.
New Science Debunks Old Myths
Two new studies presented last April at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Experimental Biology Society in San Diego shed new light on -- and strongly challenge -- the allegation that soft drink consumption is one of the root causes of increases in pediatric obesity.
First, a study by the Georgetown University Center for Food and Nutrition Policy demonstrates that overweight children consumed the same amount of beverages, but only two ounces (about 1/4 cup) more carbonated soft drinks than non-overweight children. This study suggests that soft drinks are not a root cause for childhood obesity. Moderation in portion sizes of foods and beverages, combined with increased daily physical activity, is a more effective strategy in curbing obesity and improving overall health. The Georgetown study used data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's CFSII data set from 1994-1996.
Second, other data presented at the scientific conference by researchers from Michigan State University (Children's Beverage Consumption Trends in the Past Decade, April 17, 2000) found no evidence to support the allegation that soft drinks are replacing milk in the diets of American children in the past ten years. The data demonstrate soft drinks have not replaced milk in the diets of children age 1-19 and that there is no direct relationship between changes in children's consumption of carbonated soft drinks and their consumption of milk.
This analysis was conducted using data from NFO Research's Share of Intake Panel (SIP). This study utilized information from 12,000 households using a 14-day diary in which consumers report contemporaneously all foods and beverages consumed. NFO Research, Inc., is one of the nation's leading providers of insight into the needs, behaviors and attitudes of the American consumer.
--NSDA--
For journalists who are covering physical activity and nutrition issues discussed at the American Dietetic Association meeting in Denver, especially as those relate to soft drinks, please contact:
Sean McBrideDirector, CommunicationsNational Soft Drink AssociationPhone: 202-463-6772Fax: 202-463-8178[email protected]
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