Representative Mark Falzone announced the passage of a school nutrition bill in the House of Representatives. The bill, which will apply to public elementary, middle and high schools, bans unhealthy foods and beverages that do not meet scientifically based nutritional standards and are not part of federal meal programs. In addition to banning unhealthy competitive foods of little nutritional value, the bill also requires schools to sell non-fried foods and vegetables at any location where food is sold. It is modeled after the recommendations of a 2007 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report.

Although regulating the food that can be sold in public schools, the bill does not prohibit students from obtaining food sold off school grounds during break periods and still allows parents to give their children any food they wish from home to eat at school.

Other provisions of the bill include: continuing education of school nurses, nutrition and exercise instruction in schools, collection and reporting of obesity trends, and the establishment of a farm to school program developed by the Departments of Elementary and Secondary Education and Agricultural Resources.

Representative Falzone emphasized, “As a sponsor of this bill, I am particularly glad that we are acting to improve the healthy choices for our kids in school. Putting in place this great program also assists local farmers and will save all of us, citizens and government alike, future expenditures as these children avoid the medical conditions that have increased with the epidemic of childhood obesity.”

The American Heart Association has confirmed that childhood obesity is one of the most significant public health concerns in the United States today. The upward trend in childhood obesity rates is threatening to reverse the progress made in the last fifty years in reducing cardiovascular disease and related deaths. One-third of children two to five years old are either at risk for being overweight or already are. In Massachusetts alone, 29% of middle school students are overweight or obese. These children are more likely than healthy students to be absent from school, have issues with self esteem, and become obese adults. Similarly, between 1977 and 1994, overall caloric consumption increased by about 9 percent in adolescent boys and about 7 percent in adolescent girls. By replacing sugar filled, high calorie snacks with nutritional alternatives, the consequences of such high consumption can be alleviated.

Obesity-related diseases such as Type II diabetes and heart disease will ultimately require life-long chronic disease management that can significantly reduce quality of life while increasing health care costs. In fact, from 1979 to 1999, obesity-associated hospital costs tripled for children and youth.

The passage of this bill represents a legislative commitment to changing the way students eat and exercise while they are in school, a step in encouraging a larger commitment to a healthy overall lifestyle.