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Unhealthy Vending Machines in Schools

Parents, educators and lawmakers must examine the role that schools play in the climbing rate of childhood obesity. While school lunch programs have taken fire for poor nutrition, vending machines in schools are also to blame, offering food with little to no nutritional value. Vending machines undermine healthy habits. Seventy percent of the drinks and 80 percent of the snack food found in school vending machines are unhealthy, packed with sugar, fat and empty calories.

  1. Health Risks

    • Empty calories lead to expanding waist-lines. A study by the Journal of School Nutrition found that one in five students eats from the vending machine on an average day. The average vending machine snack contains as many as 253 calories. Kids who eat or drink a 250 calorie vending machine snack five days a week consume an extra 1250 calories a week. Combined with an increased sedentary lifestyle due to computers and video games, school-aged children are at risk of becoming obese. Childhood obesity leads to other health problems such as the onset of type II diabetes. Childhood obesity puts children at risk for heart disease, high blood pressure and other health complications as they age.

    Funding

    • Schools choose to add vending machines because the money is funneled back into the schools to pay for things like field trips, band uniforms, after-school programs and supplies for the classroom. During a recession, as budgets are slashed, vending machines can provide the necessary funding for programs and supplies that would otherwise go unfunded. Conversely, when budgets are slashed, programs that are seen as unnecessary to the core curriculum are also cut. For this reason, schools often fall behind in nutrition education. The responsibility then falls back on parents who may or may not provide kids with the proper nutritional values.

    Choices

    • Vending machines rarely provide students with healthy choices. Seventy percent of drinks are sugary sodas, teas and sports drinks. Some options are disguised as healthy choices, such as bottled green tea or fruit juice; however these choices often have the same amount of sugar as a bottle of soda. Although many school districts have recognized problem and required vending machines to offer healthier options, students who eat from vending machines still consume more sugar and calories than needed. Twenty two percent of students in grades one through 12 consume food from the vending machine in place of school lunch, according to a 2005 study by the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment. Vending machines make it possible for students to reach for something other than fruits or vegetables.

    Action

    • The Obama Administration has asked Congress to restrict vending machines in schools. This would get rid of some of the sugary, high-fat snacks and drinks. At the local level, vending machine regulations are becoming stricter, with progressive schools implementing vending machines that only provide fresh healthy snacks. These machines carry things like carrot sticks, yogurt and fresh fruit.

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