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Daly City Makes Progress to Protect the Health of Kids

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On December 11th, The Daly City Council introduced the Healthy Default Drinks in Kids’ Meals ordinance, joining five other California cities with such laws. This policy has been proven to lower the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages among kids by simply requiring restaurants to replace sugary beverages with healthier options such as water and low-fat milk as the default offered with children’s meals. This type of intervention is particularly important in places like Daly City where, 39.2% percent of children between the ages of nine and fifteen are overweight or obese for their age, putting them at an increased risk for serious health problems in adulthood, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, and cancer. North County diabetes rate is 13.9%, which is higher than the countywide average of 10%. We commend the City Council for helping families make the healthier choice the easy choice, and we congratulate our community partners, the Youth Leadership Institute and Public Health Advocates, for persisting on this issue for the last three years.