Coverage from the Boston Globe on our study that found nearly 90 percent of Boston Public Schools were compliant with competitive beverage guidelines nine years after the district-wide policy was implemented:
Sugary soft drinks and juices linked to bulging waistlines have all but disappeared from Boston’s public schools after a major push began years ago to banish the drinks, according to a study published Thursday that calls the city’s strict rules a model for the nation.
Only 4 percent of Boston students have access to sugar-sweetened beverages, said researchers, who examined compliance with a 2004 policy banning the sale of soft drinks, fruit drinks, sweetened teas, and sports drinks in schools. Consumption of such beverages has been strongly linked with obesity.
“The Boston Public Schools have always been ahead of the curve, particularly on health and nutrition,” said Rebecca S. Mozaffarian, lead author of the study and a nutrition researcher a the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health…[Full Article]