House Bill 80 "Prohibiting Soda Sales in Schools"
Click for PDF: http://www.akdemocrats.org/sponsor/HB080_ss_rep_kapsner.pdfGood health is a high concern for Alaskans, particularly the health of our children. One of the best ways to improve our health is to practice preventative medicine. In order to prevent greater health problems later on, we should work to foster healthy habits from as early an age as possible. In recent years, public health advocates have worked to confront the destructive behaviors that pose health hazards, such as smoking, drinking and driving, and drug and inhalant abuse.
With many of these other problems now on the wane, we now turn toward a health risk that is still on the rise – obesity. In all age groups, rates of obesity are climbing, most alarmingly among children. Sedentary lifestyles and poor nutrition have contributed to an obesity epidemic in which approximately half of the people in this country are now overweight. The effects of this condition are dire indeed – increased risk of diabetes and heart disease are both associated with obesity.
While physical activity levels are one factor in this problem, poor nutrition accounts for the rest. One statistic that has risen in correlation with the rate of obesity is the rate of soda consumption. An average can of soda contains about 160 calories, all from sugar, and it is not uncommon for some young people to drink as many as 4 or 5 in a day. What’s worse, many school districts are making these soft drinks, as well as other types of junk foods, readily available to middle and high school students in order to supplement their revenues.
House Bill 80 is a first step towards pushing these junk foods out of our schools. HB 80 prohibits the sale of sodas and similarly sugared drinks in school between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. While students and teachers would still be able to bring sodas from home, under this legislation they would not be able to acquire them at school.
Alaska’s schools are learning institutions where our students learn the skills they will use
throughout their entire lives. If we want them to live healthy, we must stop encouraging them to balance their school’s budget with their health.