SACRAMENTO — With an increasing percentage of California children overweight and out of shape, the state's famously fit governor ignored his business allies Thursday and signed bills to eliminate the most fattening, sugary foods from public schools.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bills after walking a kilometer -- 0.62 of a mile -- with bicycle racing champion Lance Armstrong and hundreds of schoolchildren to kick off a daylong obesity summit organized by First Lady Maria Shriver.
Despite opposition from the California Chamber of Commerce -- a generous financial backer whose veto recommendations the governor followed closely last year -- Schwarzenegger signed bills to ban the sale of sodas in high schools and set fat, sugar and calorie standards for all food, except cafeteria lunches, sold in public schools.
The bills eventually could change the culinary landscape of public schools as they take effect in 2007. The delayed implementation is meant to give schools time to find replacement foods and end or change existing contracts with soda companies.
In school vending machines, yogurt, nuts and milk will replace candy bars, chips and colas, while super-size muffins may make way for pizza slices with whole wheat crust and low-fat cheese. Even the giant candy bars sold for band and sport team fundraisers will be banished from campuses during the school day if they fail to meet fat, sugar and calorie standards.
"One out of three kids, one of four teenagers, is overweight or at risk," Schwarzenegger said minutes before he signed the bills as hundreds of conferees at Cal Expo, the state fairgrounds, watched.
"This leads to major medical problems like diabetes, heart disease, sleep disorders, depression, and it robs our kids of a healthy childhood," he said.
Schwarzenegger challenged the business, health and government leaders who were attending the summit to help parents by making nutritious food and exercise opportunities more readily available.
The bills, by Sen. Martha Escutia (D-Whittier), won support from doctors and school nutritionists. Opposition came from candy makers and the state Chamber of Commerce, which argued that the causes of obesity were more complex than school restrictions could fix.
The Grocery Manufacturers of America also weighed in against the bills, arguing that legislation "will do nothing to motivate students, parents or communities to take the steps necessary to improve their overall health."
