Sugary Drinks Policy Helps Lower Access to Competitive Beverages

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A study from Preventing Chronic Disease showed that after districtwide policies were implemented across Boston schools, students had less access to sugar-sweetened beverages.

The data showed that after a ban of sugar-sweetened beverages in 2004, 89.6% of all schools studied met beverage nutrition standards, with elementary schools showing the most compliance at 93.6 percent.

Through the study, researchers also found that when these nutrition standards were met at 85.5 percent of schools studied, only four percent of students had little to no access to competitive beverages or sugary beverages at school.

Rebecca S. Mozaffarian, MS, MPH of the department of social and behavioral sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health explained in a recent article that these findings from the study can help encourage school districts nationally as they work to comply with Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act Smart Snacks in School requirements, and can translate into sustained healthier environments.

Latino kids are often targeted on TV ads and through computer games to drink sugary sweetened beverages more often than their white peers. Studies have shown giving kids less access to sugary beverages in school environments has resulted in Latino kids consuming less sugary beverages.

To learn more about this study, click here.