Why do all caloric beverages allowed under these Guidelines have calorie and serving size limits?

Schools provide an ideal setting to teach and reinforce the concepts of calorie and portion control. For this reason, the Alliance has set age-appropriate serving sizes that are consistent across all caloric beverages permitted at a given grade level. We have paired these serving sizes with consequent calorie limits to ensure we are achieving our goals of managing caloric consumption.

For example, 100% juice cannot have more than 120 calories/8 oz. Thus, in middle school, a 10 oz. container of 100% juice can contain 150 calories and in high school, a 12 oz. container of 100% juice can contain 180 calories. In high schools, you can provide 20 oz. containers for no calorie and low calorie beverages, but certain other beverages such as sports drinks, juices, light juices, low fat and non fat milk must not exceed 12 ounces. For certain other beverages such as sports drinks and light juices, the calorie cap is 66 calories/8 oz. Thus, a 12 ounce sports drink can be sold in high school as long as it doesn’t exceed 100 calories.