Banning Chocolate Milk

Banning Chocolate Milk

Students and the dairy industry would like to keep chocolate milk as a drink choice in schools, which means chocolate milk isn’t disappearing from school cafeterias without a fight. Several school districts around the country have removed chocolate milk from their menus because of the extra sugar, claiming that it contributes to childhood obesity; even though flavored milk is allowed by new USDA dietary guidelines as long as it’s fat free. There have been numerous studies reporting that children are more likely to take milk with their school meals, if the milk is flavored. Results from the most recent were published this month in PLOS One and involved eleven elementary schools in Oregon that have banned chocolate milk from the menu, replacing it with skim white milk. This study shows that banning flavored milk from school menus has resulted in a large decline in total milk consumption by students, more waste of white milk and fewer students eating school meals because of the ban. So the question remains - does the banning of chocolate milk from school menus do more harm than good?

 
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