According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is present in the American population at a disturbing rate of 33 percent.

That means one out of every three people in the United States of America is obese.

One only has to look around campus to see there is some semblance of truth in this statement. A prominent reason would be unhealthy food choices, as is evident at a glance in our own De Anza college vending machines. In this fast, high-tech world we live in, eating is also meant to be fast. Snacks from vending machines are a great option for people who are constantly on the go.

M&Ms, Snickers, various chips, cookies and powdered donuts are also offered as a source of nutrients. However, to give De Anza credit, one can buy fruit when the cafeteria is open during the day. This leaves me to ask the question: if a student can buy an apple for a dollar or a Snickers bar, which one are they going to choose? It seems like a no-brainer that students who are sleep deprived and in need of a sugar/adrenaline high tend to err towards junk food high in processed sugars.

A survey conducted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest in 2004 of 1,420 vending machines in 251 middle schools and high schools finds that “75 percent of the drinks and 85 percent of the snacks sold are of poor nutritional value.” According to the results of the survey, candy made up 42 percent, chips 25 percent and sweet baked goods 13 percent, for a total of 80 percent of the options. Of 9,723 snack slots in all the vending machines surveyed, only 26 slots contained fruits or vegetables.”

In the vending machines for drinks at De Anza, all kinds of carbonated and high sugar drinks are offered for consumption. According to the survey, “Of the drinks sold in the 13,650 vending machine slots surveyed, 70 percent were sugary drinks such as soda, juice drinks with less than 50 percent juice, sweetened iced tea and sports drink. Only 12 percent of the drinks available were water. What seems to be the common ingredient in all these food and drink products? Sugar! And lots of it.

Completely replacing the contents of the vending machine with healthier and tastier foods and drinks will help students make healthier choices not only in school but also in their personal lives. Consider replacing regular chips with the kind that are baked, cookies and donuts that are in smaller quantities or made of organic ingredients. Organic chocolate can replace the other candy bars for all those chocoholics out there. Drinks that may have sugar, but not have high levels such as Vitamin Water, do not have high levels of fructose (sugar). So the same options are there, except they are healthier.

Our First Lady, Michelle Obama, has just announced her efforts to help parents make better food choices – serving healthier food in school vending machines and lunch lines, making healthy food more available and affordable and encouraging people to exercise more. I think De Anza should also jump on the bandwagon.