The Buffalo News

According to studies, 57.5 percent of adults in Erie County are overweight or obese, while 25 percent of children in New York State are obese. In spite of these alarming statistics, the Tonawanda Town Board just approved an exclusive three-year pouring rights agreement with Coca-Cola for all venues connected with the town’s Youth, Parks and Recreation Department.

For the next three years, Coca-Cola will market non-nutritious, high-sugar beverages in parks and venues where children participate in town-sponsored recreation-programs presumably designed to help keep kids active and fit.

There is near universal agreement among health organizations that children should avoid soda, sugary beverages, energy drinks and sport drinks and consume only water, low-fat milk and a maximum of eight ounces of 100 percent fruit juice daily. Sugary beverages have been identified by countless studies as a major contributor to our obesity epidemic.

Sadly, many towns sign pouring rights contracts because they are dependent on the money earned through these sales. But should we really be financing town programs at the expense of our children’s health?

Nancy Huehnergarth
Director, New York State Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Alliance