A new study in the Journal of School Nursing reports limiting soft drink and sugary drink consumption is key to reducing adolescent obesity. According to the study, soft drink consumption has increased by 300 percent in the past 20 years, and 56 to 85 percent of children in school consume at least one soft drink daily.

Since children spend a huge part of their day at school – being able to monitor what your kids are drinking – and eating – in the school cafeteria, where a lot of these calories may be consumed, is key. School lunches are an integral part of a child’s diet, but when children are offered Doritos or yogurt for lunch, or the option of skim milk or Gatorade, they don’t usually make the right choice. Schools are beginning to offer healthier lunch choices, but kids are not obligated to make those choices. MealpayPlus is helping parents in over 250 school districts make sure their children are making healthy choices at school.

MealpayPlus is an online prepayment system that also gives parents the opportunity to keep track of their kids’ food choices. With MealpayPlus, parents can view their child’s balance at any time, as well as check payment history. The history feature tracks students’ purchase choices for 30 days. Parents can log onto their child’s account and view what has been purchased on a specific day, and can see itemized lists of any snacks or a la carte items that have been purchased.

With the likelihood of child obesity increasing 1.6 times for each additional sugar-sweetened drink consumed beyond the child’s usual daily intake of the beverage, MealpayPlus is a great tool to open the lines of communication between parents, students and schools.

(Press release courtesy of Heidi Monroe Kroft/BLASTmedia; photo courtesy of The Journal News.)