No more buying Snickers from the vending machine for a before-school pick-me-up. No more after-school candy sales to raise money for school trips. No more buying pop off the cart on movie days.|More Legislature stories|

A bill, offered by state Sen. Arnie Stuthman, would ban the sales of junk food and pop in schools during the school day and for a half hour before and after school.

Stuthman said his bill is aimed at helping reduce the number of overweight kids. "It came from my own observation of obesity of children in the schools" and the health problems that these children face later in life, said Stuthman, of Platte Center.

Fat kids are more likely to become fat adults, and overweight adults are more likely to develop heart disease, cancer and diabetes early in life.

So Stuthman said he thinks kids should be encouraged to eat nutritious food rather than snack on Pepsi and potato chips.

Legislators in at least 26 other states have introduced bills aimed at keeping junk food out of schools, and at least five states have some form of regulation.

But Stuthman's Nutrition in Schools Act is a first for Nebraska.

And his proposal is far less restrictive than the policy in Texas, where public schools will have to get rid of their deep fryers by the 2009 school year, and teachers can't give out candy as a reward.

Stuthman's bill is part of a national movement to prevent childhood obesity, a growing problem, according to public health experts.

Nationally the number of overweight children has more than doubled during the past 20 years, and the percentage of overweight teens has more than tripled.

There is no reason to believe Nebraska's children escaped the trend, said Jeff Armitage, health surveillance specialist for the state's Health and Human Services system.

About one-third of all youth are overweight and/or at risk for being overweight, based on a 2004 survey that looked at the heights and weights of students across the state.

A healthy diet is just part of the solution, Stuthman acknowledges. "The youth of today don't exercise enough," he said. Parents, he said, need to be more disciplined and make sure kids do more than watch TV or sit in front of a computer.

The bill (LB285) would not ban vending machines, but would prohibit selling junk food during the school day beginning with the 2007 school year.

Stuthman said he hopes his measure would lead to vending machines and canteens full of healthy foods —- milk, fruit juice, apples, nuts, yogurt, pretzels, some kinds of granola bars. Schools would be able to sell junk food in the evenings and on weekends.

Nutritional options do not dominate today's school vending machines.

Just 25 percent of the vending machines in middle schools and high schools sold fruit, though more than 80 percent sold fruit juice, based on a recent Nebraska survey. Vending machines that offer candy and pop are common in high schools and middle schools, where the money often supports extras, including athletics.

But elementary PTAs and elementary schools sometimes sell candy for fundraisers or just for fun.

And the money comes in handy.

Prescott Elementary teachers last year discussed dropping the school's once-a-month candy sales, for the same health reasons the senator is offering the bill, said Principal Paul Canny.

But the staff didn't want to give up the money, about $100 each month, which is used to take kids on special field trips — to the Lincoln Children's Zoo or Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.

"We are very much aware of the mixed message we are sending. And we are torn," said Canny.

In fact, he said, the whole staff would understand if senators adopted Stuthman's bill.

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.