How health care system works


Water Quality And Carbonated Soft Drinks

The  ProblemIt is easy to blame large corporations who
manufacture soft drinks and other fast food
Perhaps the greatest challenge to a healthyproducts but the solution to the problem
lifestyle in the United States today is theultimately rests within each individual
inclusion of carbonated soft drinks in thehousehold family. For example, school
individual diet; this is particularly true inprograms are subject to public scrutiny and
the diets of teenagers and younger children.input from concerned parents can be
Sales of carbonated soft drinks inparticularly  effective.
elementary, middle and high schools are of
particular concern to parents and consumerThe American Dietetic Association and the
action  groups.Center for Health and Health Care in Schools
offer suggestions on how you can improve your
child's nutrition at school and at home. Some
of  these  examples  are  as  follows:
However, evidence is starting to emerge that
soft drinks are not healthy for the- Get familiar with the menu. Keep a current
individual. Therefore, changes are requiredschool lunch menu and discuss it with your
to ensure and establish a healthy life stylechild. Talk about making healthy choices.
for  the  soft  drink  consumer.Many schools offer choices that meet
guidelines for good nutrition if students
-  Characteristics  of Carbonated Soft Drinksmake  the  right  choices.
Carbonated soft drinks are widely consumed- Ask questions. Find out who decides what is
and present a unique problem to thosefor lunch. Who determines school policies on
drinking the products. Although they arevending machines and snacks in the cafeteria
water based, much of their taste and appealand  student  store.
comes from the addition of significant
amounts of sugar, sugar substitutes and other- Get involved. Join or start a parent
chemicals that are harmful to health. A goodadvisory council for the school food service
portion of their appeal however, comes fromprogram. Learn how parents and students can
the promotion of the products in a way thatparticipate  in  the decision making process.
is  attractive  to  younger  customers.
- Support the nutrition education efforts at
Beverages containing significant amounts ofschool. If your school has an edible garden,
sugars stimulate the pancreas, boostingvolunteer to help. If none exists, create
insulin levels and removing the body from itsone. Sustainable Table has information about
natural fat burning state. Colas, inhow  to  start  one.
particular, contain caffeine, sugar, sodium
and acid that are extremely destructive to- Encourage your child to pack his/her own
human  tissue.lunch. Help them pick healthy choices that
are fun to eat, such as string cheese, fruit,
-  Effect  on  Youthcarrot sticks and pudding cups. If they pack
it,  they  will  be  more  likely  to eat it.
High levels of carbonated soft drinks have
been traced to the increase in Childhood- Make your child a savvy media consumer.
Obesity. Obesity is a major health problemKids are bombarded with TV advertisements for
for both adults and children. A surge ofsugary cereal and treats. Point out the
obesity among children results in thetechniques advertisers use to make their
increase rate of diabetes and other types ofproducts  attractive.
systemic  health  problems.
- Teach your child about nutritional labels.
In the last two decades, the incidence ofIt will help their reading skills and make
obesity among adults and children has risenthem a smart consumer if you make a game out
nearly 50 percent. As defined by federalof finding out how many names there are for
standards, approximately 30 percent of adults"sugar"  in  a  label.
and 25 percent of children are considered
obese  today.- Advocate for the laws you want. Write to
your representatives at the state and federal
The sale of carbonated soft drink products islevels. Express your concerns about school
a major business by large corporations andlunches, the placement of vending machines at
advertising is one of the foremost componentsyour child's school or requirements for
in the marketing mix. The messagesphysical  education  programs.
communicated in an effective marketing
campaign are powerful, yet subtle for allSource: "It Takes More than An Apple a Day to
listeners particularly children and teenagersKeep  Your  Child  Healthy"
who have not yet developed a frame of
reference  that  allows  understanding.There is currently and there continues to be
progress in children's health education. In a
In a recent article by Susan Linn and Dianerecent report commissioned by the American
E. Levin that studied the impact ofBeverage Association, consumption of
advertising on children, the authorsCarbonated Soft Drinks (CSD) decreased in
concluded  that:high schools from 57.2% of the product mix in
2002  to  44.9%  in  2005.
"Children are especially vulnerable to the
impact of advertising. A recent study out ofSimilarly, the consumption of water as a
Stanford University found that one 30-secondpercentage of the product mix increased from
commercial can influence the brand choices of9.1% to 12.7% in the same period. Similar
children as young as 2. Repeated exposures toresults were reported for middle and
ads are even more effective. Very youngelementary  schools.
children don't distinguish between a
commercial and television programming. AndContinued effort and vigilance is required to
children under 8 aren't able to understandkeep  this  project  in constant development.
that ads are created to convince people to
buy  products."-  School  Budgets  and  Fundraising
Source: "Stop Marketing 'Yummy Food' toAn important element to consider in the fight
Children"against junk food obesity is the role of junk
food products in fundraising for schools. As
In the past decade, techniques for marketinga result of across the board budget pressure
unhealthy food to children have becomeat all government levels, school boards have
increasingly sophisticated, subtle andreduced many activities or look toward other
effective. Marketing junk food in schools isnon  tax  sources  of  funding.
a growth industry that includes direct
advertising, sponsorship of sports teams andFundraising events for direct activities or
involvement with fundraisers that add revenuethrough booster clubs became an important
to  schools  for  activities.source of funding for sporting and other
activities.
The media is increasingly dominated by
advertising dollars from the food industry.An important source of revenue at fundraising
Some estimates of total food promotionalevents was the resale of soft drinks to
budgets exceed $30 Billion and continues tospectators; the profit was considerable. A
grow.program that replaces carbonated soft drinks
in the schools for health reasons also
Childhood obesity in the United States hasrequires products that generate an equivalent
grown considerably in recent years. Unhealthysource  of  revenue.
weight gain due to poor diet and lack of
exercise is responsible for over 300,000-  The  Pure  Water  Element
deaths each year. More shocking is that the
annual cost to society for obesity of allBottled drinking water is an ideal substitute
forms  now  exceeds  $90  Billion.for carbonated soft drinks if the quality is
high and the taste is appealing. Our bodies
There are indirect effects of obesity asare estimated to be about 60% to 70% water.
well. In a recent study, Dr. Ramin Alemzadeh,Blood is mostly water, and our muscles, lungs
MD, explains that "diabetes is not the onlyand brain all contain a large amount of
issue related to childhood obesity. Obesewater.
children may have greater difficulty with
high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels,It is necessary to drink water to regulate
orthopedic problems, sleeping habits, as wellbody temperature and also to provide the
as  self-esteem  and  peer  relationships."means for nutrients to travel to all our
organs. Water also transports oxygen to our
Dr. Alemzadeh cites studies indicating thatcells, removes waste and protects our joints
adults who were obese as children also faceand  organs.
significant health and social difficulties
later  in  life.Water that is pure and free of minerals and
bacteria is the ideal source for the
-  Soft  Drinks  in  the  Schoolhydration of our bodies and a significant
contributor to a healthy lifestyle. If you
Parents are often told that it is their jobconsume coffee or alcohol, you should drink
to promote healthy nutrition, even asat  least  an  equal  amount  of  water.
corporations undermine their efforts by
spending billions of dollars marketing junkWhen you are traveling on an airplane, it is
food to children. This results in a barragegood to drink 8 ounces of water for every
of food industry ads that promote unhealthyhour you are on board the plane. If you live
fares, from the cereal boxes and TV ads atin an arid climate, you should add another 2
home to the soda and snack vending machinesservings per day. As you can see, your daily
at  school.need  for  water  can  be  significant.
Some 10,000 food industry ads per year forThe best source of water is pure drinking
unhealthy foods are aimed at children, from 3water. Purified drinking water based upon
years to teenage years. Ninety-five percentcombined filtration, distillation and
of these ads promote fast food, candy,ozonation techniques is readily available in
sugared  cereals  and  soft  drinks.the market today. This process guarantees a
high-quality product combined with a light
From the school board to the statehouse,refreshing  taste.
efforts to ban sugary foods and combat
childhood obesity are being debated around- Water and Fundraising - The Private Label
the nation. This increased level of awarenessProgram
is beginning to take effect but continued
effort  is  required.Bottled drinking water is an ideal
replacement for soda in the fundraising
Solving the problem requires effort on allprocess. Because of the increased demand for
levels. Consumer protection groups arepure drinking water, bottled water is as
pressuring the U.S. Congress andmarketable to the consumer as soft drink
Administration; efforts are well underway atsodas and many times more profitable for the
the state level to curb aggressivefundraisers.
advertising.
This is because many bottled water suppliers
In response, suppliers have increased theircan easily supply water that has a private
promotional efforts and many schools, underlabel for the school and the occasion. The
continued budget pressure, often supplementprivate label advertising feature allows the
their incomes with proceeds from soda andfundraiser the ability to charge a premium
candy fundraising and booster club sales. Infor the product and increase the profit on
spite of the massive promotional budgets ofthe  transaction.
food manufacturers, a focused effort by
consumer groups and parents is already inSoft drink or soda suppliers do not offer
progress.private labeling for their products because
the strategy of these suppliers is to
-  What  Can  Parents  Do?increase the recognition of their own brand.



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