The Dairy Council of Utah is on a crusade to educate parents that chocolate milk has less sugar than soft drinks or juice drinks and will give kids the calcium they need.
"Kids are not getting the calcium they need and are replacing milk with sodas and fruit drinks," said Becky Low, director of nutrition education for the council. "We want moms and their children to look at chocolate milk not as a treat but something they can drink every day."Often parents are worried about the sugar content of chocolate milk, but Low said it is by far less sugary than pop.
"Regular milk has two teaspoons of sugar (that includes naturally occurring sugars, not refined table sugar). Chocolate milk varies but generally has four teaspoons of sugar (that does include some refined sugar). Fruit drinks range from five to six or more teaspoons of sugar, and sodas have between seven, nine or even more teaspoons of sugar," she said.
National statistics show that six out of 10 boys and seven out of 10 girls are not getting the calcium they need, Low said. They should be getting two or three servings of dairy products daily. A glass of milk constitutes one serving.
The American Academy of Pediatrics also has said that adequate amounts of calcium are essential during childhood in order to develop proper bone mass.
The National Dairy Council currently is sponsoring TV ads on the Nickelodeon Channel featuring characters Steve and his dog Blue from the popular children's show, "Blues Clues." Posters of the two also are on display nationally.
The public relations firm for the National Dairy Council and National Dairy Commission also is sponsoring a chocolate "got milk?" mustache contest that anyone age
18 or under can take part in. Contest rules are posted on the Web site www.whymilk.com.
This also is "Bat month" in many Utah schools, which are using Batman, Robin and Batgirl posters, mobiles and stand-up cardboard figures to promote chocolate milk.
"If they like the chocolate milk, or any flavored milk, they drink more of it and that will boost their calcium," said Low. In fact, a recent national survey showed that 40 percent of the children surveyed said they would drink more milk if it were chocolate.
Fruit juice is nutritious and good for you, Low said. But fruit "drinks" often contain only a tiny amount of juice, or sometimes just fruit flavorings. Soft drink labels show they contain no vitamins or minerals.
"It's empty water, so to speak. You're not getting the protein, calcium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin A, vitamin B-12, vitamin D and phosphorous that you would with milk," Low said.
The Dairy Council of Utah also is continuing its efforts to educate parents and schools about the need for milk in vending machines in schools.
"It's a trend that is happening everywhere. The pops are everywhere. We have traded something sweet for the nutrition we should be getting," Low said, adding that students could satisfy their sweet tooth and still get something nutritious if schools offered chocolate milk in vending machines.