IOM: Better School Snacks Needed
The federal government should mandate healthier snack and beverage options for schools, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended in a report requested by Congress. The report is expected to fuel federal efforts to restrict the sale of snack foods and beverages in vending machines and as à la carte items outside of the federal school breakfast and lunch programs. The IOM said that opportunities for children to purchase snack foods and drinks should be limited, and that most snack foods should consist of nutritious fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nonfat or low-fat milk and dairy products. The IOM also recommended that student access to soda and sports drinks be severely limited. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) are sponsoring legislation that would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to update its school nutrition standards. “USDA currently uses outdated and incoherent nutritional guidelines for school foods,” Sen. Harkin said in a statement. “Making matters worse, those guidelines apply only to the school cafeteria during mealtime. Kids need only walk outside of the cafeteria in order to purchase soft drinks, chips, and candy bars. This is a junk food loophole big enough to drive a soda pop delivery truck through.”
Depression, Drugs, Alcohol Linked
Recent depression doubled the likelihood that a youth aged 12–17 years dabbled in alcohol or drugs, according to a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The report showed that 29% of those who faced depression had taken their first drink in the past year, compared with 14% of those who did not face major depression. And, 16% of youths who faced depression and had not previously used illicit drugs began drug use, compared with 7% of youths who had not faced depression. The rates of first-time use for specific drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, and nonmedical use of prescription drugs, showed a similar association.
NIH Launches Anti-Obesity Program
The National Institutes of Health is seeking to help communities prevent childhood overweight through a program called We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity and Nutrition). Launched in South Bend and Gary, Ind., and Roswell, Ga., the program focuses on improved food choices, increased physical activity, and reduced recreational screen time. NIH will provide technical assistance on planning, as well as materials such as parent handbooks, posters, videos, and other tools. In addition, each city will distribute We Can! tips and information to city employees.
THC Levels Highest Ever
With a warning that “this isn't your father's marijuana,” John Walters, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, issued a report this spring showing that the levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in marijuana currently available in this country are the highest ever recorded. The University of Mississippi Potency Monitoring Project found that the average THC level was 8.5%, compared with 4% reported in the early 1980s. Further, a larger proportion of pot has a potency of 9% or higher—a trend that has been increasing since the late 1990s, according to the Potency Monitoring Project. The project receives funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and has been analyzing seized marijuana samples since 1976. Mr. Walters said the report should serve “as a wake-up call for parents who may still hold outdated notions about the harms of marijuana.”
Teen Smoking Linked to Ads
The more cigarette marketing that teens are exposed to in retail stores, the more likely they are to smoke, according to a study published in the May issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Researchers from Bridging the Gap, a policy research program based at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, examined several marketing strategies, including cigarette point-of-sale advertising, cigarette price, and promotions such as multipack discounts and gifts with purchase. They found that point-of-sale advertising is associated with youth trying smoking, that pricing strategies contribute to increases all along the smoking continuum, and that cigarette promotions increase the likelihood that youth will move from experimentation to regular smoking. “Our study shows that the marketing of cigarettes in places where teens shop clearly increases their cigarette use,” said Dr. Sandy Slater, the study's lead author, in a statement. “Restricting these marketing practices would reduce youth smoking.”