The Case of the Missing Sweeteners: Choosy Moms Are Choosing Water

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Sep 21, 2010, 03:29 ET

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The sun has barely peeked over the horizon when seven-year-old Millie Mancini creeps out of bed. It's pretty quiet in her Evanston, IL home. At least for now. The chaos of the school day is about to start.

Millie's mom, Lucinda Fox, says Millie's feet are usually the first to hit the floor in her home. Hunger wakes her up, and she's ready for a big bowl of oatmeal. Nine-year- old big brother Leo, on the other hand, would rather stay in bed. Lucinda has to use a little "coaching" to get him up, fed, and ready for school. And two-year-old Lila has her own set of early morning needs for care and feeding. "It can get pretty hectic," Lucinda says.

With school now in full swing for millions of American kids, the Fox-Mancini family's morning drill is pretty common. What may be different about this family's routine is what's missing: juices and soda.

The Fox-Mancini household is one of a growing number of families keeping an eye on how much sugar their kids consume. Recent studies have shown a connection between rising childhood obesity rates and sweetened soft drinks. Lucinda is well aware of the numbers, and the drink of choice in her home is water. Lucinda says keeping soda and sweetened juices out of the house was a decision she made early on.

"If you start them early, it's really no big deal. We're almost exclusively water at home, and they get milk at school," she said.

"If they end up playing at a friend's house and they get a glass of Sprite, I won't worry about it. They get a soda maybe four times a year."

There's data to indicate that water can make a difference in fighting childhood obesity. The American Academy of Pediatrics cited research that indicates schoolchildren with better access to water can lower their risk of being overweight by as much as 31 percent. The study found that children drank more water when they were allowed to have reusable bottles throughout the day.

School districts across the country are taking notice. In Massachusetts this summer, the legislature voted to require that water be made available anywhere food is sold in the schools. Similarly, the Illinois Nutrition and Training Program is encouraging school systems to teach children about the value of staying hydrated.

But Not Just Any Water!

The water in the Fox-Mancini home comes from a filtered pitcher. Lucinda says their Chicago-area tap water tastes fine to her, but the family still decides to use a filter "just to get some of the impurities."

Fox's concern isn't without merit. Chicago-area water has been under scrutiny over the last handful of years. Tap water tests commissioned by the Chicago Tribune in 2008 indicated traces of some prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Finding consistently good tap water has become difficult in many parts of the country. With education budgets on the chopping block in many state legislatures, school drinking water safety has come into question. An Associated Press investigation last fall found that school drinking water in all 50 states contained some contaminants. School water in almost 30 of them contained lead and other toxins. Today, thanks to a stubborn economic recovery, many of those states have still not found the money to repair the old plumbing blamed for most of the contamination.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is sounding the alarm as well. In testimony to Congress on behalf of the Academy last year, Dr. Jerome Paulson urged the Environmental Protection Agency to make drinking water safety a priority. "Communities should not wait until children are ill before moving to identify and address these issues," he said.

In some cases, school officials say buying bottled water is less expensive than fixing the old pipes. In 2007, Baltimore City Public Schools switched the entire school water system to bottled water after a random survey found almost a dozen water fountains contained lead levels that exceeded EPA regulations. Baltimore has spent more than $2.5 million on bottled water over the last several years.

In Chicago, engineers say they need more data to be able to justify spending the millions of dollars it would take to make their treatment plants more effective at cleaning the newest contaminants out of the water. One of those engineers favors a process called reverse osmosis, but admits that it is much more expensive than other methods.

Water purified by reverse osmosis is available to consumers in bottled water. Primo Water Corporation, based in Winston-Salem, NC, uses this as one element in a rigorous purification process to deliver better tasting water. Primo's nationwide bottlers move the water through a series of ever smaller filters designed to catch particles, bacteria and odors. The water is also treated with softeners and receives a proprietary recipe of minerals to further refine the taste. Reverse osmosis, or in some cases distillation, is actually one of the last steps Primo takes in water purification. It's capable of removing contaminants as small as individual ions or atoms.

Good for Kids, Bad for the Environment?

Primo leaders saw an increased demand for purified water as both an opportunity and a challenge: how to serve the parents who want purified water for their children, and still attack the growing problem of plastic in our landfills, roads and waterways.

"Primo offers a way for consumers to drink purified water and still protect the landfills and the rest of the planet from discarded single-use water bottles," said Primo VP of Marketing Kelly Lockwood-Primus. "Primo Water's three-and five-gallon bottles are exchanged when empty for a discount on a new bottle. Bottles are reused an average of 40 times, before the plastic is ultimately recycled. "The Primo bottle exchange system has managed to keep more than 1.8 million pounds of plastic out of our landfills so far."

Primo doesn't sell single-use PET water bottles. Instead, it promotes the use of reusable bottles, filled from its in home hot and cold water dispensers.

Emily Martine, a mom who lives in Chapel Hill, NC sees that as an option schools should consider. "I'm pretty picky about the taste of my water. I think it would be great for the schools to get coolers."

Making a Splash

For parents concerned about the prevalence of soda, and issues with school water systems, packing water from home has become not only a sound choice, but a trendy one too. Emily Martine says she's seen a shift in what her fellow parents are sending with their children to school. A lot more water, in stylish reusable bottles. Her school's PTA recently included highly decorated stainless steel water bottles to sell as part of a fundraiser. They were a hit. Many parents considered them as a "must have."

Martine's home is also "water only."

"My kids have a sweet tooth, and they'd abuse it if they had the chance. My advice is just don't make sodas available," she said. "Parents are in control of what's in the house. If what there is is water, that's what you get."