Coca-Cola's New Health Venture: Coke Is Right But So Wrong

The Coca-Cola Company is right: Americans need more exercise. It is also correct in pointing out that we do not pay "enough attention to exercise." Moreover, Coke deserves praise for donating money to build fitness centers in more than 100 schools across the country. Thus, Coke can make an important contribution to increasing public awareness of the essential role of physical activity in maintaining health. As one starting point, Coke's voice could be significant in ensuring that its donated fitness centers are used. While we don't need Coke's money for more research to tell us that schools can play an essential role in ensuring young people spend sufficient time each day engaging in vigorous or high-intensity physical activity and that most children and adolescents do not come close to meeting these recommended levels, Coke can do more to address these shortcomings. Studies by reputable scientific bodies, including the Institute of Medicine, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and The Centers for Disease Control have found that less than half of high school students attend daily physical education classes, and a large majority fail to meet the recommendations of sixty minutes of exercise per day. In a poll conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and NPR 68 percent of parents reported that their children did not get daily exercise. Unfortunately, in too many school districts education reform has crowded out time and money for ex...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news