Food and beverage vending machines (vending machines) are saturated with ultra-processed foods with unbalanced nutritional profiles. Their presence in schools exacerbates the epidemic of youth overweight and obesity, as shown by a study (R. Volpe et al.) that experiments with replacing 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.
Nutrition seminars were organized to raise awareness about the nutritional profiles of junk food-snacks, high-calorie snacks, sugary drinks-that crowds vending machines, the consumption of which is associated with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and premature mortality. (2)
The substitution of junk food
The five schools that participated in the project replaced products usually offered by vending machines with foods with more balanced nutritional profiles, reduced in calories, fat, sugar and salt.
Yoghurt, fruit juices with no added sugars, rusks, crackers with no added fat, non-fried crispy ‘chips’, fresh dried fruits, dried fruits in 30 g sachets, low-calorie cookies and low-calorie bars have taken the place of snacks, snacks and HFSS drinks.
Institutions equipped with an in-house cafeteria and/or school canteen and/or external catering services in turn introduced sandwiches prepared with ingredients suitable for a balanced diet into their offerings: drained tuna and tomato, bresaola or turkey rump with salad and tomato.
The results
About 6 months after the start of the initiatives mentioned above, the researchers recorded an appreciable reduction in body mass index (BMI) in the group of 156 students fed only balanced foods at school, -2.1 percent in Italian students and -2.2 percent in Lithuanian students. This is an important figure, considering that one in four children in Italy is at risk of obesity, while in Europe in the 5-9 year age group almost one in three (29.5%) is overweight and/or obese, one in eight (11.6%) already suffering from morbid obesity (3.4).
Conversely, the control group – 174 students, excluded from the nutritional enhancement of food provided at school by vending machines and cafeterias – showed no change in the BMI of Italian students, instead increased (+0.5 percent) in Lithuanian students.
The information that is missing
Positive effects also emerged regarding awareness about the role of nutrition. Compared to the pre-existing condition, 53.4 percent of Italian students and 21.6 percent of Lithuanian students demonstrated an increase in knowledge of basic principles for healthy eating. At the same test, progress in the control group was limited to 2.5 percent among Italians and 3 percent among Lithuanians.
The success of this initiative is unfortunately undermined by the paucity of consumer information offered by vending machines-as we have seen (4)-and the lack of summary nutritional information on the label front, such as the long-awaited Nutriscore as a reference model in the European Union. (5)
Marta Strinati
Cover image from https://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/thisweekineducation/2010/11/cartoon-the-other-kind-of-junk-food.html
Notes
(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. Sweetened and sugary drinks, sweet snacks. Studies on premature mortality and sugar tax. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 10.9.19
(3) Dario Dongo, Sabrina Bergamini. Childhood obesity, 1 in 4 children at risk in Italy. Istat Report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 29.10.19
(3) Sabrina Bergamini. Obesity, childhood obesity, and marketing. WHO Europe 2022 Report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 16.6.22
(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
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
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