The next time you’re in the local school, check out the vending machines. This is where your kids are getting food when it’s not lunch time (and in some places, even when it is lunch time). If your kids go to school early or stay late for academics, arts, or sports, the vending machine is probably what’s fueling them.

So what can you do?

• First, pack an extra before school/after school snack. If you have a high school football player, it’s going to look more like a second lunch, but at least you’ll be offering better nutrition.
• Discuss good food choices with your child. What can they get in the vending machines that will provide nutrition and fuel? What boundaries do you want to set as a parent?
• Finally, get informed about your state, school district, and school policy on vending machines. When are they available to the kids? What’s for sale? How can you help provide more nutrient-dense (and still tasty) choices?

Here’s some information to take to the schools from the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity.

Nutritionally Poor Foods Are Widely Available in Schools

• Between 1991 and 2005, the percentage of middle schools with vending machines increased from 42% to 82% and the percentage of high schools from 76% to 97%.1
• Although healthy foods and beverages are increasingly available, the most common items sold outside of school meals include candy, sugary drinks, chips, cookies, and snack cakes.1,2,3,4

Junk Food Is Having a Negative Impact on Children’s Health

• Over the last two decades, rates of obesity have tripled in children and adolescents.5
• The sale of low-nutrition foods in schools outside of school meals is associated with increases in children’s body mass index (BMI).6 It is estimated that a fifth of the average increase in BMI in teens between 1994 and 2000 was attributable to increased availability of junk food in schools.7

Current Practices Are Costly to Federal Taxpayers

• By developing a pattern for eating low-nutrition foods, children increase their risk of developing diet-related diseases, such as obesity, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. U.S. health-care costs due to obesity are $123 billion a year, half of which are paid for by federal taxpayers through Medicare and Medicaid.8

References
1- U.S. Department of Agriculture. School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study-III. Washington, D.C.: USDA, 2007.
2- O’Toole T, et al. “Nutrition Services and Foods and Beverages Available at School: Results from the School Health Policies and Programs Study 2006.” Journal of School Health 2007, vol. 77, pp. 500-521.
3- Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Dispensing Junk: How School Vending Undermines Efforts to Feed Children Well. Washington, D.C.: CSPI, 2004.
4- Kann L, et al. “Competitive Foods and Beverages Available for Purchase in Secondary Schools – Selected Sites, United States, 2004.” MMWR 2005, vol. 54(37), pp. 917-921.
5- Ogden C, et al. “Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in the United States, 1999-2004.” Journal of the American Medical Association 2006, vol. 295, pp. 1549-1555.
6- Kubik M, Lytle L, Story M. “Schoolwide Food Practices Are Associated with Body Mass Index in Middle School Students.” Archive of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine 2005, vol. 159, pp. 1111-1114.
7- Anderson P and Butcher K. “Reading, Writing, and Raisinets: Are School Finances Contributing to Children’s Obesity?” National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Working Paper Series. Cambridge, MA: NBER, 2005.
8- The Endocrine Society and the Hormone Foundation. Economic Impact of Obesity. Chevy Chase, MD: The Endocrine Society and the Hormone Foundation. Accessed at on October 8, 2008.

The National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity is the policy arm of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). NANA advocates national policies and programs to promote healthy eating and physical activity to help reduce the illnesses, disabilities, premature deaths, and costs caused by diet- and inactivity-related diseases such as heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity.

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