TITLE
Recommendation to respectfully request City Manager to work with the City Attorney to create a Long Beach healthy food policy that promotes good nutrition and healthy environments within City facilities and at City-sponsored meetings/events (special events excluded). This policy should include standards that hold to the following:
· 100% of snacks and beverages sold in vending machines on City
property where City programs operate shall meet specified
nutrition standards.
· 100% of beverages and snack foods served at meetings/events
led or coordinated by City staff or programs shall meet specified
nutrition standards.
· Specified nutrition standards should be based on nationally
recognized and accepted guidelines, similar to those used for
foods and beverages sold in California schools (SB 12 and
SB 965).
· The standards should include limits on sugar, fat, sodium and
calories for snack foods, as well as the elimination of sugar-
sweetened beverages, and limits on artificially sweetened
beverages.
DISCUSSION
In Long Beach, almost one-third of the adult population and nearly a quarter of children are obese.
Obesity is a major risk factor for most chronic diseases, and is economically costly. In Los Angeles County, the cost associated with overweight and obesity is almost $6 billion dollars per year.
The high rate of obesity in our community is the result of numerous and complex factors. While individual factors such as knowledge of health risks and behavior are important in the prevention of obesity, recent studies have linked the epidemic to environmental conditions including, but not limited to, the easy availability of high calorie, low-nutrient foods and limited access to healthier foods.
Current best practices for population-based obesity prevention are focused on improving the food
environment, and making the healthy choice the easy choice. As a sector that has wide-reaching impact and is a large employer, government is a ke...
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