Banning Soda in School Doesnt Reduce Consumption

CHICAGOThe policy of banning the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages in school cafeterias and vending machines does little to reduce overall consumption of  sugar-sweetened drinks, according to a new report published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

"Our study adds to a growing body of literature that suggests that to be effective, school-based policy interventions must be comprehensive," the researchers said. "States that only ban soda, while allowing other beverages with added caloric sweeteners, appear to be no more successful at reducing adolescents' sugar-sweetened beverage access and purchasing within school than states that take no action at all."

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago examined state policies that banned all sugar-sweetened beverages in schools compared with states that banned only soda or had no beverage policy for in-school purchases to determine whether these policies were associated with reduced in-school access and purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages.

Data included 6,900 students from public schools in 40 states, who were sampled during their fifth and eighth grade years (Spring 2004 and 2007, respectively) and had completed questionnaires about their in-school access to and purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages, as well as their overall consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. The proportion of students who reported in-school sugar-sweetened beverage access and purchasing were similar in states that banned only soda (66.6 % and 28.9%) compared with states with no beverage policy (66.6% and 26%, respectively).

Overall, sugar-sweetened beverage consumption was not associated with state policy. Approximately 85% of students reported consuming sugar-sweetened beverages at least once in the past seven days, and 26% to 33% of students reported daily consumption. Additional analysis indicated that overall consumption had only a modest association with in-school sugar-sweetened beverage access.