Junk Food

It's lunchtime at Van Nuys High School and students stream into the cafeteria to check out the day's fare: black bean burgers, tostada salad, fresh pears and other items on a new healthful menu introduced this year by the Los Angeles Unified School District. But Iraides Renteria and Mayra Gutierrez don't even bother to line up. Iraides said the school food previously made her throw up, and Mayra calls it "nasty, rotty stuff. " So what do they eat? The juniors pull three bags of Flamin' Hot Cheetos and soda from their backpacks.

Re "No end in sight to obesity epidemic," May 8 Of course there is no end in sight to the obesity epidemic. If the government can hold a conference that might suggest that Americans consume less junk food, then what makes us believe that the government wouldn't stop there and would suggest that Americans eat more broccoli? The Supreme Court has already given its lecture that our vegetable-averse Founding Fathers have hidden in the Constitution a prohibition to a broccoli mandate, even though one would improve citizens' health.

Ronda Storms is a Republican state senator from Florida. She is also a mom who buys the groceries for her family of four. A few months ago, Storms, 46, started noticing that some fellow shoppers were using federal food stamp money to purchase a lot of unhealthful junk. And it galled her - at a time when Florida was cutting Medicaid reimbursement rates, public school funding and jobs - that people were indulging in sugary, fatty, highly-processed treats on the public dime. "If we're going to be cutting services across the board," she said, "then people can live without potato chips, without store-bought cookies, without their sodas.

New legislation in Sacramento that would ban food trucks and other street vendors from doing business within 1,500 feet of a school just doesn't pass the taste test. The purpose of the bill is to prevent childhood obesity, but that is a large and complicated problem, and the state isn't going to reverse obesity by controlling every aspect of a child's or a teenager's life. Certainly, the government is responsible for the well-being of children while they're in school. The Obama administration has rightly taken strong steps to ensure that school meals are more wholesome than they used to be. Now schools need to take those rules and figure out how to produce appealing food that students are willing to eat. We're not suggesting that food vendors aren't part of the problem.

Are farm subsidies making us fat? Billions in taxpayer dollars are going to support high fructose corn syrup and three other common food additives used in junk food, according to a report released this week by the California Public Interest Research Group and the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, both consumer advocacy groups. The report, "Apples to Twinkies: Comparing Federal Subsidies of Fresh Produce and Junk Food," makes the case that federal farm subsidies are helping feed the nation's obesity epidemic.

Let's call it what it is: a sin tax. A California lawmaker is targeting the obesity epidemic with a tax that would slap a penny-an-ounce levy on drinks sweetened with sugar or corn syrup. The food industry, not surprisingly, has squared off against the idea, arguing that the tax bill is a punitive assault on personal choice. "The government doesn't have the right to social engineer," said J. Justin Wilson, senior research analyst at the industry-backed Center for Consumer Freedom.

If Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. would have sold junk food instead of bonds, it would still be in business today. RON LANCASTER North Hollywood

For many students, “back to school” means back to a vending machine diet. As you might guess, this isn’t necessarily a good thing for student health. Vending machines are found in 16% of U.S. elementary schools, 52% of middle schools and 88% of high schools. About 22% of students in grades 1 through 12 buy food in vending machines each day – and those purchases added an average of 253 calories to their diets, according to a new study in the September issue of the Journal of School Health.

If only food were as simple as cigarettes. There are no ambiguities about the evils of smoking. It sickens people who do it and endangers those around them. Despite remarkable progress in persuading people not to take up the habit in recent decades, smoking is still the No. 1 preventable cause of death in this country, and it has no known health benefits. Overeating, especially of low-nutrition junk food, is a bad habit too. Obesity is a fast-rising threat to American health. Yet, unlike with cigarettes, we can't "quit" food.

"Sin taxes" on cigarettes have turned out to be the most effective weapon in the campaign to reduce smoking. Why not try it on Flamin' Hot Cheetos, vanilla Coke and Twinkies? With increasing vigor, public health experts and think tanks are calling for extra taxes on foods and drinks that are heavy in calories and light on nutrition. New York Gov. David Paterson proposed an 18% soda tax last year as a budget-balancing measure, only to abandon it three months later in the face of stiff public opposition.

Are you just out of college and still trying to lose your freshman 15? Did you recently start a family but are unsure how to meet everyone's nutritional needs? Are your roommates' bad dietary habits undermining your attempts to eat healthful foods? Then you may be a candidate for our next Pantry Raid. We're looking for volunteers to participate in our Pantry Raid series in which we overhaul diets and give practical suggestions for eating and cooking more healthfully. We'll come to your house with a registered dietitian who will go through your refrigerator, freezer and cabinets and suggest ways to improve your eating habits.

Think your kid isn't tempted by junk food while at school? A study finds that about half of kids surveyed from public and private school had ready access to vending machines, snack bars, school stores and a la carte lines. And they're not just selling carrot sticks. The study, released Monday in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine , looked at the foods children had access to at various spots on campus during lunch time, in what they termed "competitive venues. " Researchers surveyed children at 2,647 public elementary schools and 1,205 public elementary schools from 2006 to 2010.

Swimmer Natalie Coughlin didn't earn 11 Olympic medals by eating junk food. The 29-year-old has been interested in food since her days at UC Berkeley, when she began to break out of her grilled chicken and broccoli habit and explore more appealing fare. That led her to start cooking for herself, reading books on food and growing fruit, vegetables and herbs at her home in Northern California. We spoke with Coughlin recently about why good nutrition is important for athletes--even weekend warriors--and why good food should be enjoyed.

Ronda Storms is a Republican state senator from Florida. She is also a mom who buys the groceries for her family of four. A few months ago, Storms, 46, started noticing that some fellow shoppers were using federal food stamp money to purchase a lot of unhealthful junk. And it galled her - at a time when Florida was cutting Medicaid reimbursement rates, public school funding and jobs - that people were indulging in sugary, fatty, highly-processed treats on the public dime. "If we're going to be cutting services across the board," she said, "then people can live without potato chips, without store-bought cookies, without their sodas.

TNT announcer Charles Barkley may have caught some flack after calling his shedding of 38 pounds in three months for a Weight Watchers campaign a " scam " (comments that he sort of seemed to mean in a good way, allowing the company a graceful response). But in spite of that hot-mic accident -- and though the former Phoenix Suns power forward has been known to trade snappy remarks with the Miami Heat 's Dwyane Wade -- he and the younger basketball player share an emphasis on getting fitter and eating right.

It's lunchtime at Van Nuys High School and students stream into the cafeteria to check out the day's fare: black bean burgers, tostada salad, fresh pears and other items on a new healthful menu introduced this year by the Los Angeles Unified School District. But Iraides Renteria and Mayra Gutierrez don't even bother to line up. Iraides said the school food previously made her throw up, and Mayra calls it "nasty, rotty stuff. " So what do they eat? The juniors pull three bags of Flamin' Hot Cheetos and soda from their backpacks.

What to do about the obesity epidemic? Here's a thought: Substitute "tobacco" for "junk food." That provides a pretty clear road map about what government authorities should be doing to safeguard public health. Unfortunately, officials are instead just reheating the same old leftovers. Dietary guidelines issued recently by the U.S. Department of Agriculture basically say Americans need to ease up on the salt, sugar and saturated fats, and instead eat more fruits and veggies.

Think your kid isn't tempted by junk food while at school? A study finds that about half of kids surveyed from public and private school had ready access to vending machines, snack bars, school stores and a la carte lines. And they're not just selling carrot sticks. The study, released Monday in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine , looked at the foods children had access to at various spots on campus during lunch time, in what they termed "competitive venues. " Researchers surveyed children at 2,647 public elementary schools and 1,205 public elementary schools from 2006 to 2010.

Are farm subsidies making us fat? Billions in taxpayer dollars are going to support high fructose corn syrup and three other common food additives used in junk food, according to a report released this week by the California Public Interest Research Group and the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, both consumer advocacy groups. The report, "Apples to Twinkies: Comparing Federal Subsidies of Fresh Produce and Junk Food," makes the case that federal farm subsidies are helping feed the nation's obesity epidemic.

Nothing's ever as simple as we'd like it to be. A case in point: Policies that simply increase access to supermarkets may not get  people to choose an apple over ice cream , a recent study reported . Changing people's eating habits is difficult, in other words.  One reason is money.   Healthful foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and dairy, can often be pricey.  For the cost of a couple of peaches, a person can get a full meal on the dollar menu at a fast-food outlet.