Democrats in New York are now considering a ban on chocolate milk in public schools because too many kids are overweight:
CBSNY – It’s a school lunch staple, but could it soon be a thing of the past?
The Department of Education is reportedly considering a ban on chocolate milk in city schools.
A potential ban on chocolate milk is actually nothing new. Back in 2006, when city public schools banned whole milk, it briefly considered a ban on flavored milk, the high content of sugar being the main reason why.
“Chocolate milk has about 10 grams more sugar than regular milk and children should limit their sugar intake to about 25 grams,” nutritionist Reyna Franco said.
According to the Department of Health, 4 in every 10 elementary school children are overweight or obese. The department has been in favor of the ban for quite some time now, posting on its website that children who drink chocolate milk twice a day consume about 80 grams of sugar each week. That adds up to six pounds of sugar a year.
The Department of Education told CBS2 its priority is the health and well being of students and that no decision has been made about chocolate milk just yet.
School districts in San Francisco and Washington D.C. have already banned flavored milk.
As if not drinking chocolate milk is going to solve anything?
I get it that too many kids are overweight, but I suspect it has more to do with what they eat outside of school. For instance, kids in broken one-parent families, where that one parent is working all the time just to make ends meet, may end up eating whatever they want instead of having a traditional balanced meal prepared for them. I’m sure there are a ton of different scenarios, but my point is that drinking chocolate milk is probably the last thing contributing to childhood obesity.
CBS2 reports that parents, by large, are completely against the potential ban, noting that chocolate milk may be the only source of calcium many kids get. They feel like school lunches are good enough now and that the state DOE should leave it alone. Amen!