Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Just say NO to Coke, kids.

U.S. beverage group sets policy limit to soft drinks in schools

It seems someone suggested we legislate warning labels about the health dangers of drinking soft drinks like the ones on cigarettes. I doubt that would do much good, but I guess it doesn't really matter to me either way. I feel like those warnings only work on people who already care about the consequences. In other words, they don't really work. They definitely would not work on children.

The President of the American Beverage Association (I bet there's an American Creampuff Association somewhere. What about an American Buccaneer's Association? I think we're overdue. Okay, I'll stop parenthesizing now), Susan Neely, said of that program that "individuals, not the government, are in the best position to make the food and beverage choices that are right for them." She's right, but I'm glad they're realizing that kids don't have the tools with which to make those decisions, nor are they well supervised enough to stock vending machines with a ton of soda and then expect them to avoid it. As a chubby (though by no means obese) child, I rarely had soda. I can't imagine what I would have struggled with if I had. Thanks, Dadio & Mumsale!

1 comment:

Mair said...

I'm of the (obnoxiously strong) opinion that children have no business drinking sugary drinks or eating sugary foods. I always have mini spaz-outs when I see parents giving young children garbage. When we were at the beach, I saw this couple pouring a slushy into their kids SIPPY CUP!!! If you still need a sippy cup you SHOULD NOT be eating FROZEN SUGAR!!! Get REAL people!!! No wonder there are so many terribly obese, badly behaved children in the world.