Diabetes Health Talk

Sugar has been banned at Georgia elementary school for a decade

Recent research suggests banning soda not curbing kids’ consumption

As schools around the country have begun removing soda and junk food from their premises, the elementary school in Lithonia, Georgia, was ahead of the curve, cutting out sugar 10 years ago under the watch of principal Dr. Yvonne Sanders-Butler.

Sanders-Butler overhauled the school’s menu, nutrition program and vending machines after battling her own weight troubles and surviving a stroke at 39. When she sought to eliminate sugar from the school, many resisted and warned her she was endangering her job.

“If we don’t do something, we’re talking about children that are probably going to lose their life at some point. We have to take a stand,” she said.

Schools are now pulling soda from their vending machines and cafeterias. California schools can sell only water, milk and fruit and sports drinks that contain a specified amount of sweeteners. Beverage distributors such as Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have agreed to sell only water, unsweetened juice, and flavored and unflavored low-fat and fat-free milk at all elementary and middle schools by the 2009 school year.

Research into the effectiveness of these kinds of interventions in schools is beginning, but recent studies suggest banning soda at school has minimal impact.

A study in Maine compared the soda intake between students at high schools where soda was permitted and schools where it was banned. Researchers found that reducing soda availability did not decrease consumption, according to the 2008 study published in the Society for Nutrition Education.

Another study published this year in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that limiting soft drinks at school decreased consumption by 4 percent.

Removing junk foods from schools may not eliminate the problem.

What happened in Browns Mill was the result of a number of factors, said Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu, former U.S. Surgeon General, who now chairs the Johnson and Johnson Diabetes Institute. He credits the principal for creating “an environment in her school where it became a normal part of the curriculum to learn about what’s important as far as diet.”

“It really focuses on the children and having the children learn how to make healthy decisions for themselves,” he said. “Second, it created an environment within the schools that encouraged the kids to make those decisions. By having healthier foods, by having physical education, by having vending machines, that gives the children the opportunity to make healthy choices.”

Browns Mill fifth-grader Cori Bostic said she would prefer honeydew, watermelon or cantaloupe to cake anyway.

Wincing slightly, the fifth-grader said, “Junk food makes my stomach hurt.”