Food and drink vending machines are full of ultra-processed foods with unbalanced nutritional profiles. Their presence in schools aggravates the epidemic of youth overweight and obesity, as demonstrated by a study (R. Volpe et al.) which experiments with the replacement of HFSS (High in fat, sugar and salt) foods with healthy foods. (1)
'Clean' vending machines against youth obesity
The research 'A Vending Machine for a Friend' designed by the Prevention and Protection Office of the CNR (National Research Council, Italy) was conducted in collaboration with the Italian Society for Cardiovascular Prevention (SIPREC) and the Lithuanian Heart Association. The project involved teachers and students from three schools in Italy and two in Lithuania.
Seminars on nutrition were organized to raise awareness of the nutritional profiles of junk food - snacks, high-calorie snacks, sugary drinks - which crowds vending machines, the consumption of which is associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and premature mortality . (2)
Replacing junk food
The five schools who participated in the project replaced the products usually offered by vending machines with foods with more balanced nutritional profiles, with reduced calories, fat, sugar and salt content.
Yogurt, fruit juices without added sugar, rusks, crackers without added fat, non-fried chips, non-fried crunchy 'chips', fresh dried fruit, dried fruit in 30 g sachets, low-calorie biscuits and low-calorie bars have taken the place of snacks , HFSS snacks and drinks.
The institutes equipped with an internal bar and/or school canteen and/or external catering services, they in turn have introduced into their offering sandwiches prepared with ingredients suitable for a balanced diet: drained tuna and tomato, bresaola or turkey breast with lettuce and tomato.
The results
After about 6 months since the launch of the initiatives mentioned above, researchers have recorded an appreciable reduction in body mass index (BMI) in the group of 156 students fed only balanced foods at school, -2,1% in Italian students and -2,2 % in Lithuanian ones. An important fact, considering that one child in four in Italy is at risk of obesity, while in Europe in the 5-9 year age group almost one child in three (29,5%) is overweight and/or obese, one in eight (11,6, 3,4%) already afflicted by morbid obesity (XNUMX).
The control group – 174 students, excluded from the nutritional improvement of the foods provided at school by vending machines and bars – vice versa recorded no changes in the BMI of the Italian students, while it increased (+0,5%) in the Lithuanian ones.
The missing information
Positive effects also emerged regarding awareness of the role of nutrition. Compared to the pre-existing condition, 53,4% of Italian students and 21,6% of Lithuanian students demonstrated an increase in knowledge of the basic principles of healthy eating. On the same test, the control group's progress was limited to 2,5% among the Italians and 3% among the Lithuanians.
The success of this initiative is unfortunately undermined by the scarcity of information offered to the consumer by vending machines - as we have seen (4) - and the lack of summary nutritional information on the label front, such as the Nutriscore long awaited as a reference model in European Union. (5)
Marta Strinati
Cover image from https://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/thisweekineducation/2010/11/cartoon-the-other-kind-of-junk-food.html
Footnotes
(1) R. Volpe et al. Results of European Heart Network Pilot Project “A Vending Machine for a Friend”. Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences. Volume 11, Issue 3, May 2023, Pages: 63-69 https://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/journal/paperinfo?journalid=154&doi=10.11648/j.jfns.20231103.11
(2) Dario Dongo, Sabrina Bergamini. Sugared and sweetened drinks, sweet snacks. Studies on premature mortality and sugar tax. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(3) Dario Dongo, Sabrina Bergamini. Childhood obesity, 1 minor out of 4 at risk in Italy. Istat report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(3) Sabrina Bergamini. Obesity, childhood obesity and marketing. WHO Europe 2022 report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(4) Dario Dongo. Vending machines, what information? GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 16.6.18
(5) Marta Strinati, Dario Dongo. NutriScore, a report by 320 scientists to urge the European Commission. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 12.5.23
A professional journalist since January 1995, she has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic studies on food and has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
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