FACT SHEET - AB 1476 (Williams) - Sale of Sports Drinks in Schools

SUMMARY
AB 1746 would prohibit electrolyte replacement
beverages (sports drinks) from being sold to middle or
high school students during school hours. The sale of
such drinks would be restricted starting thirty minutes
before the start of the school day and would conclude not
before thirty minutes after the end of the school day.

BACKGROUND
Current California law restricts the sale of soda and most
other sweetened beverages on elementary, middle, and
high school campus. However, the law includes a
loophole allowing the sale of one type of sugarsweetened
beverage – “sports drinks” – on middle and
high school campuses.

One in three California students is overweight or obese.
Sugar-sweetened beverages, including sports drinks, are a
major contributor to the problem. For children, each
extra can or glass of a sugar-sweetened beverage
consumed per day can increase their chance of becoming
obese by as much as 60%. The prevalence of
overweight/obesity is higher in adolescents who consume
sugar-sweetened beverages.

There is a common misconception that sports drinks, also
known as “electrolyte replacement beverages” or “ERBs”,
are healthy. Yet many contain high fructose corn syrup
and/or other calorie-laden sweeteners that have been
linked to the rise in childhood obesity, the primary cause
of type-2 diabetes. For example, the typical 32-ounce
sports drink has 14 teaspoons of sugar, the equivalent of
22 Starburst candies.

Sports drinks are designed to replace fluids after intense
exercise and generally contain sodium and potassium to
improve fluid absorption in the body. The United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that ERBs may
be useful when large quantities of fluids are lost through
sweating on a daily basis, and/or those who perform
continuous exercise for more than 60 minutes. 
However, the USDA concludes that there is no need to substitute
sports drinks for water as a primary form of fluid
replacement. Additionally, the American Academy of
Pediatrics states that children should be given water
before, during and after exercise, with the exception of
small amounts of sports drinks for children exercising in
hot, humid conditions for more than one hour. The
current school day does not include the kind of rigorous
activity that warrants ready access to sports drinks.

NEED FOR THE BILL
Despite these alarming facts, sports drinks remain
available to students. A recent study indicated that eight
of the top 10 beverages sold a la carte in California’s
public high schools are sports drinks, clearly becoming the
drink of choice for those students wanting a substitute for
soda. While few school districts, such as the San
Francisco Unified School District, have recognized the
problem and have taken it upon themselves to remove
these beverages from their campuses, the vast majority
have not. California needs to be a leader and remove
these unnecessary and calorie-laden beverages from all of
its school campuses.

SUPPORT
California Medical Association (Co-Sponsor)
California Center for Public Health Advocacy (Co-
Sponsor)

OPPOSITION
None on file

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Leslie Villegas
Office of Assemblymember Das Williams
(916) 319-2404
Leslie.villegas@asm.ca.gov