If your child has a choice in school as to their beverage, what would they choose?
Jamie Oliver pushed this issue about flavored milk strong on his Food Revolution series. Did you know U.S. schools account for 54% of total flavored milk sales?
In Florida the state Board of Education is entertaining a policy that would end the sale of flavored milk in schools — a bold move by a state where 32 percent of children ages 10 to 17 are considered overweight. An 8-ounce serving of .5% chocolate milk has 150 calories/26 grams of sugar while 8 oz. of fat-free milk has 90 calories/12 grams of sugar and 8 oz. of 1% milk has 110 calories/12 grams of sugar, and as much as 75% of the milk that Floridian schoolkids drink is thought to be chocolate.
Parade Magazine recently had an article, The Debate over Chocolate Milk: Good or Evil? This included the above information as well as other concerns over flavored milk. They opened with: Is chocolate milk making our kids obese? Could chocolate milk help adults lose weight? Could the answer to both of these questions be yes? In a word, yes.
The St. Petersburg Times also covered this story including a striking poll. It seems that more people believe it shouldn't be banned. With obesity and diabetes growing in numbers among children and teens, it would seem that providing healthier eating habits can only help our youth.
For now, the Board of Education has halted debate on the topic until new federal nutrition guidelines are released.
Be an educated parent, you will have healthier children.
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