Other experts said that reversing the obesity trend would require not only removing sodas from school campuses, but changing societal norms.
"It's about a huge increase in calories and an extremely sedentary lifestyle," said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University.
"It's now acceptable to eat more times during the day, acceptable to eat publicly, acceptable to sell soft drinks to kids in school and to eat huge quantities, and it didn't used to be that way. There's a very large complex of social trends going on that affect kids, and we're really going to have to change society."
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Too heavy
Percentages of California children in grades 5, 7 and 9 who were found to be overweight when tested in 2004:
Percent overweight, statewide
All: 28.1%
Boys: 33.9%
Girls: 22.0
Pacific Islanders: 35.9%
Latinos: 35.4
American Indians: 31.7
Blacks: 28.7
Filipinos: 24.7
Whites: 20.6
Asians: 17.9
Others: 24.4
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Percent overweight, 10 largest cities
Los Angeles: 36.3%
Santa Ana: 34.8
Anaheim: 32.3
Oakland: 30.7
Fresno: 30.5
Long Beach: 29.1
Sacramento: 28.7
San Jose: 27.4
San Diego: 26.4
San Francisco: 24.4
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Source: California Center for Public Health Advocacy
