Get fat, sugar out of schools

What's not to like about banning high-fat, high-sugar foods from school cafeterias and vending machines? It's good for children's health, and it's a good way to teach nutrition.

Similar programs, already implemented in local schools, are popular with parents and appreciated by doctors who know that obesity is often connected to diabetes and heart disease.

A bill requiring such a ban has passed the S.C. House and been referred to the Senate Committee on Education. While time is limited, the Senate should find a way to pass the bill and give South Carolina's children help in battling obesity.

It can't come too soon. According to the National Survey of Children's Health, more than a third of children ages 10 to 17 in South Carolina are overweight or obese. The state ranks 47th nationwide.

Obesity is more than a school problem. Much more. It involves sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy eating at home and slick marketing aimed at children. Educating children about nutrition and exercise gives them tools to develop good eating habits that could last a lifetime.

Some schools are participating in a special Farm-to-School program that encourages districts to purchase locally and regionally produced foods — another way to improve children's health. The program also strengthens farm economies.

We hope that school districts, seeing the benefits of eliminating high-fat, high-sugar foods from their menus, will look for other ways to improve students' health and decide to follow suit and use locally grown fruit and vegetables.

So what's not to like about this bill? PTAs might be a bit nervous about their balance sheets. Not to worry. It exempts fundraising bake sales and lifts the ban after school hours for sporting events and other extracurricular activities.

It's only one ingredient, but it's a key ingredient in addressing childhood obesity in the state.