The attempt to push through the Maryland Healthy Vending Act in that state has sparked debate about whether or not the government should have a say in what goes into vending machines for the public … at least those vending machines that are on state-owned or state-managed properties.
Robi Rawl, executive director of Sugar Free Kids Maryland, a coalition created two years ago, led the fight to enact the measure, which initially seemed to have strong support in the state congressional houses. The bill mandated that 75 percent of items in vending machines in state-run buildings must meet healthy standards. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration already requires vending machines to clearly display nutritional information.
“People looking for a Coke (may) still find a Coke. Snickers and Doritos can still be in the machines — but so would healthy options,” Rawl told LifeZette. “Right now, there are virtually no healthy options and virtually no choice.”
“It’s easy to see why healthy vending has already been implemented in over 80 jurisdictions across the country,” Rawl added. “Healthy vending has been studied extensively, and each time it has been implemented, revenues have either stayed the same or increased.”
But the measure was killed by Maryland’s Senate Finance Committee and now has been withdrawn, potentially to be retooled down the road.
The bill has raised questions about vending machine standards as more states move to introduce similar legislation. And it begs the question: Is all this effort to include healthier foods in vending machines really working to help America’s obesity epidemic?
Dr. Scott Kahan, director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness and a spokesperson for The Obesity Society, told LifeZette it’s not clear whether healthy food options in vending machines are causing people to eat better.
"There haven't been enough real-world vending machine policies with good follow-up data collection to know," he acknowledged. "But we do have good data that healthy vending options do improve purchase choices and nutrition."
A 2014 VendingMarke****ch.com report showed that healthier foods are being requested across the board, even required now in schools, due to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. However, vending operators with a large quantity of school accounts are reporting revenue losses of between 30 to 40 percent from that segment.
The requirement limits sodium, total sugar and calories in all snack items.
"Finding healthy product options that sell well is an issue the industry will continue to struggle with as more and more vending operators are asked to place healthy items in machines, even at non-school accounts. A majority, 82.7 percent of operators, report having locations request healthier products be placed in the machines. This is a trend that is not receding," the VendingMarke****ch.com report states.
Adding more healthy options in vending machines and lowering the cost of those options relative to unhealthy options "seem to be most effective," said Kahan.
Andy Bellatti, a nutritionist in Las Vegas, said he also thinks prices could affect the items people buy. "I'm a big believer in nudging folks toward healthful choices," he said. "To do that, unhealthy options need to be priced much higher or simply not be made available."
In other words, then, if you want to partake of your favorite junk food addiction — you'll be stuck trying to find it yourself.
Bellatti also said it is vital to define what constitutes healthy foods. "I have seen too many so-called ‘healthy vending machines’ that still sell highly processed junk. Low-fat cookies, sugar-laden beverages with added vitamins, whole grain fried chips, and pretzels, which are simply refined flour, are not healthful snacks, but rather ‘healthwashed’ fare."
He also admitted that the healthiest snacks are ones people bring from home — such as fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate with an 80 percent or higher coca content, or vegetables with dips such as hummus, salsa, and guacamole. And he noted it is too soon to tell if healthier options in vending machines cause people to eat better.
Kahan believes strategies such as the Maryland Healthy Vending Act are worthwhile. "To be sure, one-off interventions or policies are not enough in the face of the huge obesity epidemic, but they can be valuable pieces of the puzzle," he said.
Alabama, Iowa, Mississippi, and Ohio are the leading states in the Healthier Vending Machine Initiative in State Facilities movement, the CDC reported. Countless communities are also taking up the initiative, not always with success.
Bellatti believes it's worth a try. "When it comes to improving public health and nutrition, we need multiple solutions. Healthier vending machines — ones that sell real healthful food, not health-washed junk — can certainly play a role."
http://www.lifezette.com/healthzette/leave-my-vending-machines-alone/
