State eyes ban on junk food

The state Senate is considering implementing a ban on junk foods in elementary and middle schools.

By: Matt Egan
   Students in public schools in New Jersey may no longer have the choice between junk food and healthy food when they slide their quarters into vending machines.
   A ban being considered by the state Senate would force elementary and middle schools to remove junk food from their vending machines. The ban, which was approved by the Senate Education Committee on Monday, would cover any item that has sugar listed first in its ingredients or any item that contains more than 8 grams of fat in it.
   The bill, sponsored by Sens. Martha Bark, D-Burlington, and Joseph Palaia, R-Monmouth, also calls for high school vending machines to sell at least one healthy item. The Assembly already passed a similar bill in November by 59-14 vote, with five abstentions. The Senate bill has not been scheduled for a discussion or vote by the full Senate.
   The Legislature is considering the bill in an effort to combat childhood obesity.
   School nurses in Cranbury, Jamesburg and Monroe support the bill because of its potential to improve the health of children. However, they said they realize that childhood obesity is a larger societal problem that cannot be solved with one piece of legislation.
   "It sometimes takes a state policy to make a change happen, so I’m very happy to see this act" being considered, said Cindy VanDerWerf, school nurse at Cranbury School.
   New Jersey would not be the first state to enact such legislation. According to a report recently released by the University of Baltimore’s Obesity Initiative (www.ubalt.edu/experts/obesity), eight states have already enacted vending machine restrictions in public schools.
   According to the University of Baltimore’s Obesity Initiative, New Jersey was ranked the 36th most obese state for children in 2005. However, New Jersey was given a "C" for its efforts to fight childhood obesity.
   States were assessed on whether or not they had considered or enacted legislation dealing with obesity. California was the only state awarded an "A" by the university, while five states were given failing grades.
   The state Department of Health and Human Services conducted a study of students’ weight and found that nearly 40 percent of New Jersey sixth-graders are either obese or overweight. The 2004 report, the "Statewide Weight Status Survey of Sixth-Graders," shows that 18.2 percent of sixth-graders are overweight and 19.8 percent are obese.
   The report measured weight using the body weight index (BMI). Overweight is defined in this report as a BMI between the 85th and 95th percentile, while obese is defined as over the 95th percentile.
   Most experts agree that childhood obesity is a growing and very serious problem in the U.S. The 2004 report said, "obesity places young people at risk for life-long health problems including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, early heart disease, stroke, asthma, depression and diabetes." Childhood obesity is also a significant economic burden on society, according to the report.
   "Just over the last 20 years there has been a big change with kids who are overweight," said Cindy Weiler, school nurse at the Mill Lake School in Monroe.
   She called the legislation "definitely a start."
   "If we have a vending machine filled with unhealthy snacks then we are sending students a message that it is OK to eat them, she said.
   Pat Dufty, school nurse at John F. Kennedy School in Jamesburg, agreed.
   "I think it’s a great idea," she said. "We have too many children who are obese right now."
   During her 12-year tenure at JFK, Ms. Dufty said she has "seen a rise in obesity and a rise in high blood pressure in students."
   Experts attribute the rise in childhood obesity to a range of factors. Ms. Weiler said that today kids are not as active as they used to be, and eat out a lot more often.
   Debbie Dowd, school nurse at Applegarth Middle School in Monroe, pointed to a lack of excercise.
   "We don’t walk anywhere anymore," she said. "We don’t even have to reach for the phone or the remote anymore."
   Ms. Dufty also attributes the rise in childhood obesity to inactivity, as well as to eating a lot of foods high in fat. She also cited children’s attachment to video games and computers.
   "The children used to be running outside to play, now they are on the computer talking to their friends," Ms. Dufty said.
   "It is a big problem to overcome when you realize all the pressure coming from society," said Ms. VanDerWerf. She said that the public is pressured every day to eat foods that are high in sugar and fat.
   While applauding the effort being made in the junk food ban, several nurses realize that the ban will not solve the obesity problem, and will not be effective without support from the community.
   "I don’t think this will fix the problem because we know that they are inactive and they are eating outside of school but this is definitely a start," Ms. Weiler said.
   "I would encourage all parents to get involved in supporting this," said Ms. VanDerWerf. Asked if the junk food ban would work without support from the community, she said, "absolutely not."