OLYMPIA — The American Beverage Association recommended yesterday that soda and other sweetened beverages be pulled from vending machines at elementary schools across the country, saying the industry needs to help fight the increasing rate of childhood obesity.

ABA President and CEO Susan Neely was to announce the organization's new policy recommendation today at the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Seattle.

"Childhood obesity is a real problem," Neely said. "The individual companies have been doing several things to be part of the solution and there was an agreement among all of our leadership that we needed to take another step and take it as an industry."

Neely argues soft drinks aren't inherently bad, and are fine for physically active children who eat a balanced diet. But she wants parents to have the assurance that their children aren't drinking an excessive amount of sweetened drinks at school.

Several Washington school districts, including Seattle, Everett and Stanwood-Camano, have banned sales of soft drinks and junk food. State law requires all school districts to have reviewed their nutrition and physical-fitness policies by Aug. 1.

The association's board voted unanimously yesterday to work with school districts to ensure that vending machines stock only bottled water and 100 percent juice in elementary schools.

Under the group's recommendation, middle-school students would have access to additional drinks, such as sports drinks, no-calorie soft drinks and low-calorie juice drinks. Middle schools could have additional machines with soft drinks and full-calorie juice drinks available for organizations that may hold meetings at the school, but the beverages couldn't be available during school hours.

High-school students would have access to all types of drinks, including soda, but no more than 50 percent of the vending-machine selections would be soft drinks.

The association's recommendation isn't binding, but Neely said the 20-member board represents 85 percent of the bottlers involved in school vending.

An estimated 9 million schoolchildren ages 6-19 nationwide are overweight, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since 1980, the number of overweight children has doubled, and the number of overweight adolescents has tripled, according to the CDC.

According to the state legislatures conference, annual obesity-attributed medical expenses were estimated at $75 billion in 2003.