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Vending Machines And Overweight People |
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Written by Robert Farnham
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Tuesday, 06 May 2008 23:55 |
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Are vending machines to blame for people being overweight? The answer to that question depends on who you ask. There are some in our society that tend to blame others for their choices. Fast food locations have been sued for people gaining weight and so it is just a matter of time before the owner's of vending machines find themselves in the same predicament.
by RobertFarnham
Are vending machines to blame for people being overweight? The answer to that question depends on who you ask. There are some in our society that tend to blame others for their choices. Fast food locations have been sued for people gaining weight and so it is just a matter of time before the owner's of vending machines find themselves in the same predicament.
The bottom line though is that no one has to spend their money in a vending machine. They can bring along their own drinks and snacks to ensure they get something healthy. People just like the fact that they don't have to carry items around. They can also get a cold drink from a vending machine when they want to.
Statistically, even when a vending machine does have healthy foods in it, people will choose something else. This is common when there are many items to choose from in a given machine. There is no way to force a person with a weight problem to get a bag of peanuts over a chocolate bar. You also can't make children get juice instead of a soda when they are on their own and spot a vending machine.
Parents often worry about the image that vending machines provide their children with though. Therefore they end up putting pressure on the schools to get rid of them. When they school evaluates how many of their students don't eat a healthy lunch they often agree. So they take out the vending machines yet students can still bring the same foods from home to eat at the school if they want to.
Those schools that continue to allow vending machines are making changes though. They want the students to make better choices. Therefore they limit the access to the vending machines. Students can't buy from them during lunch or between classes. They can only do so before and after school. This means sales are going to drastically drop and so are profits for the person who owns that vending machine.
Still, this means the owner of the vending machine has to find a very good location to move it to. This can be hard to find and it really isn't fair. They may have purchased a newer vending machine based on the income they made at the school. Now that it isn't there anymore they may struggle to make a good profit with their vending machine business.
At some schools as well as other locations, the change to only healthy items offered is being looked at. Students will only have access to healthy drinks and snacks in the machines. It is an effort to help them make better food choices. The goal is to also reduce the scenario of them only having fattening foods and drinks to choose from when they approach a vending machine.
The truth is that vending machines aren't to blame for people being overweight. Poor food choices on a regular basis is. The fact that most children and adults don't get adequate exercise is a factor as well. Due to so many complaints about what is in some vending machines, some changes have been made. Yet the owners of these machines will often tell you that it is the items full of sugar that often sell out anyway.
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