Secondary schools in Hawaii are cited in a new national report as being among the nation’s leaders in the trend toward schools cutting back on the sales of less nutritious foods and beverages, such as candy and soda.

The report — "Availability of Less Nutritious Snack Foods and Beverages in Secondary Schools - Selected States, 2002-2008" — was published today in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Data was collected from 40 states from 2002 to 2008.
Last year, the report says, 88.2 percent of students in Hawaii secondary schools could not buy candy or salty snacks from vending machines or at a school store or snack bar.
Maine had the second-highest percentage (82.0) and Connecticut the third (80.4).
By comparison, only 18.2 percent of secondary school students in Utah could not buy candy or salty snacks at school.
The report shows that among the 34 states that collected data in 2006 and 2008, the median percentage of secondary schools that did not sell soda or fruit drinks that are not 100 percent juice increased from 38 percent to 63 percent.
The percentage among Hawaii schools was 82.4.
The median percentage of secondary schools that did not sell candy or salty snacks not low in fat increased from 46 percent in 2006 to 64 percent in 2008.
"The school environment is a key setting for influencing children’s food choices and eating habits," said Howell Wechsler, Ed.D, M.P.H., director of CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health. "By ensuring that only healthy food options are available, schools can model healthy eating behaviors, help improve students’ diets, and help young people establish lifelong healthy eating habits."
The full report can be seen at:
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm58e1005a1.htm