According to a Bloomberg report, the health drink Plezi, touted by Michelle Obama, does not meet the Obama administration's health standards. Which means it would not be allowed in elementary or middle schools.
During the Obama administration, Michelle Obama often pushed initiatives in an effort to reduce obesity in children. During that time, some schools found the administration's guidelines too costly and restrictive.
Fox News reported that the Bloomberg report read, "Under the Obama-era school-meal regulations currently under review, U.S. elementary and middle schools may only serve water, milk, or 100% fruit or vegetable juice with no added sweeteners (the regulations do permit schools to dilute juices with water) — and none of Plezi's four current flavors meet these criteria."
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On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) advised against using certain sweeteners, like stevia, to control body weight. Experts say the "non-nutritive sweeteners" in Plezi, such as monk fruit and the stevia leaf, are concerning, as they may be considered unhealthy.
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Nutrition professor, Jerold Mande, said he believes the former First Lady was "ill-served by advisors who convinced her to start by targeting 6- to 12-year-olds with a flashy, ultra-processed beverage that may not be any healthier than diet soda."
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Leah Dunmore, Plezi C.E.O., came to the defense of the beverage. In an email, she wrote, "[To] label Plezi an 'ultra-processed food' is at best cynical if not intellectually dishonest."
"Kids are also better off getting the intact fiber in fruit rather than the processed fiber added to Plezi," said Bonnie Liebman, nutrition director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "It's not clear that the soluble fiber would make kids feel full, and it's unlikely to prevent constipation, but it certainly can't hurt."
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According to most health experts weighing in on Plezi, it would be a better choice for students than regular sugar-filled soda, but they warned of the significant amount of sweeteners in the drink.
A former consultant for Coca-Cola, Calley Means, told Fox News that seeing Obama promote an unhealthy beverage choice for kids made him "sick to [his] stomach." He said, "As a parent, I am begging Michelle Obama -- this might not fund the new house in Martha's Vineyard, but please, for the sake of children, speak clearly: Kids should not be eating sugar and not be drinking sugar."
The American Heart Association weighed in, noting that the healthiest choices for school children are milk and water, with low-calorie sweetened drinks as an occasional alternative.
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