We are aware of research carried out in the USA, and published in the Journal of American Academy of Paediatrics, on the effects of decreasing consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks on body weight in adolescents.  However, I understand that the available evidence on the relationship between sugar and body weight is not clear and more evidence of an association is required before definitive conclusions can be drawn.

Calorie-free soft drinks contribute to consumer choice and current consumption levels of artificial sweeteners are within safe limits.  The Government’s healthy eating advice remains that consumers, as part of a healthy balanced diet, should drink plenty of water, or other fluids, daily, and to drink fewer sugary soft and fizzy drinks.  To encourage school children to adopt this habit, the only drinks that new school food standards will allow are: plain water; skimmed or semi skimmed milk; pure fruit or vegetable juice; soya drinks enriched with calcium; yoghurt or milk, which may contain artificial sweetener or less than 5% added sugar; tea; coffee or low calorie hot chocolate.

The School Food Trust, in conjunction with other Government Departments, is developing approaches to monitor the impact of the minimum standards for school food.  However, exploring the impact of changing dietary habits is complex and the approach suggested is not likely to provide any definitive findings as there are many other factors that would need to be taken into account, such as other dietary intake (particularly outside of school environment), physical activity, emotional and well being etc.  It is with these reasons in mind that we do not plan to explore the impact of consuming artificially sweetened soft drinks in schools on the body weight, nutrient intakes or the performance of pupils.

  
Yours sincerely,

Carol MacMillan
SCHOOL FOOD TEAM
Department For Education and Science