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[Obesity Discussion]

Senate Eyes School Junk Food
Mike Mitka


JAMA. 2006;295:2130.

A bipartisan coalition of senators introduced legislation April 6 intended to improve students' eating habits and improve children's overall health.

The "Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act of 2006" (S 2592 [http://thomas.loc.gov]) calls for an update on the decades-old federal nutrition standards for snack foods sold in school cafeterias alongside the regular school meals and would apply those standards everywhere on school grounds, including in vending machines and school stores.

"Many American kids are at school for two meals a day, but instead of a nutritious school breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria, they are enticed to eat Cheetos and a Snickers bar from the vending machines in the hallway," said Sen Tom Harkin (D, Iowa), a cosponsor of the bill. "Junk food sales in schools are out of control. It undercuts our investment in school meal programs, and steers kids toward a future of obesity and diet-related disease."

[William Wallace]

I hope more governments get involved. I remember having access to all the junk food I could eat as a kid. Certainly did not help me at all.