Unfortunately, when teens are thirsty, they often grab for sweetened beverages -- soft drinks, juice drinks, and sports drinks -- guzzling lots of calories ... but little to no nutrients. Now, a new pilot program in Boston called, the Boston Corner Store Iniative, aimes to change all that. Through the project, eight convenience stores located near six Boston middle schools will market healthier beverages such as lowfat milk, plain water, and 100% fruit juices to the kids who frequent corner stores before or after school. The goal is to get kids to nix the nutritionally lackluster, sugary drinks in favor of other nutrient-packed options. According to Mayor Thomas Menino, "The increased consumption of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages is directly linked to rising obesity and diabetes rates among children and youth. This is an effort to get students to think about what they drink before they make their purchases." We applaud this initiative and hope other communities will follow suit. What efforts are underway in your community to promote better health and nutrition among children and teens? We'd love to hear from you!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Think About Your Drink
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I teach middle school. Our Physical Education dept. has a vending machine that sells water (used to sell Powerade also) to sweaty kids after P.E. class. Sales have dropped.... so they are now looking into incorporating some of the new, reduced sugar sports drinks. I'm thinking that anything that gets the kids to drink LESS soda is a good thing, because they would, if left to their own devices, survive on french fries and carbonated drinks (at least the ones I teach)!
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