Leading Health and Nutrition Organizations Support Flavored Milk to Help Kids Meet Critical Nutrient Needs « Back

Leading health and nutrition organizations – including the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Dietetic Association, American Heart Association, National Hispanic Medical Association, National Medical Association and School Nutrition Association – recognize the valuable role that low-fat or fat-free milk, including flavored milk, can play in meeting daily nutrient needs, and helping kids get the daily servings of milk recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In fact, the School Nutrition Association is a long-time supporter of low-fat and fat-free milk options, including fat-free flavored milks, in school cafeterias to help students get their recommended daily allowance of nutrients critical for strong bones and healthy diets. And the Institute of Medicine in their recommended nutrition standards for school meals, School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children, also supported keeping fat-free flavored milk in schools because of the nutrients that flavored milk provides.

For more information on the science, visit:

• 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
• Policy Statement on Soft Drinks in Schools from the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on School Health
• Clinical Report: Optimizing Bone Health & Calcium Intakes of Infants, Children and Adolescents from the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Nutrition
• Position of the American Dietetic Association on the Use of Nutritive and Nonnutritive Sweeteners
• Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association on Dietary Sugars Intake and Cardiovascular Health
• As published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association: The nutritional consequences of flavored milk consumption by school-aged children and adolescents in the United States
• As published in the Journal of Adolescent Health: Children and adolescents’ choices of foods and beverages high in added sugars are associated with intakes of key nutrients and food groups
• As published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association: Drinking flavored or plain milk is positively associated with nutrient intake and is not associated with adverse effects on weight status in U.S. children and adolescents
• As published in Nutrition Today: Not All Calcium-fortified Beverages Are Equal
• As presented at American Dietetic Association’s annual conference in October 2009: The Removal of Flavored Milk in Schools Results in a Reduction in Total Milk Purchases in All Grades, K-12
• National Institute of Child Health and Development’s Program: For Stronger Bones…for Lifelong Health…Milk Matters!
• United States Department of Health and Human Services Program: Best Bones Forever
• Child Nutrition ENVIRON Report - School Milk: Fat Content Has Declined Dramatically since the Early 1990s