"May I have a pepperoni hot pocket, a pretzel, two strawberry shortcake cookies and a slushy?"

This type of lunch order is commonly heard in the Southfield High School student store. Sure these snacks may taste good, but they’re making students fat. These high calorie lunches can turn into excessive body fat, causing students to be overweight or obese.

Obesity is an excessive accumulation of body fat, which results in individuals being at least 20 percent heavier than their ideal body weight.

Data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics shows that children among the ages of 6-19 made up 15 percent of those who were obese in the year 2000 in the United States.

Obesity is a common eating disorder that can cause health problems. Many of the health problems that plagued obese adults are now common for teens, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and type 2 diabetes, a disease in which the body has trouble converting food to energy causing high blood sugar levels, because of being obese. These health problems can turn into severe future health problems including congestive heart failure, greater risks for cancer, stroke, and short life expectancy.

Obesity is usually caused by lifestyle, says school nurse Linda Graves. Teens are much less active today than they used to be, according to Graves. One culprit is video games, Graves says. Also, people spend hours sitting in front of computers and eat more greasy high-calorie restaurant meals, she says. People go out to restaurants or pick up something quick to eat at the grocery store to heat up at home instead of eating a nutritious home-cooked meal.

The National Center for Health Statistics reports that 10 percent of high school students have no physical activity at all in the course of a week, while 31 percent of students spend three or more hours watching television during the week. Nurse Graves says that obesity rates, low levels of physical activity, and poor nutritional habits suggests a very unhealthy future for today’s teens.

The obesity epidemic is having a greater impact on minority groups, in particular African Americans and Hispanic/Mexican Americans, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Environmental factors contribute to minority groups having high percentage rates in obesity and obesity-related cardiovascular diseases due to health-related behaviors, lifestyles, and economic disadvantages.

Southfield High has taken its own steps to combat obesity. The school is not allowed to serve any foods that do not meet the approval of Superintendent Beverley Geltner. In the spring of 2005 the school yanked the pop machines out of O-House cafeteria leaving one diet pop machine, at the discretion of the superintendent, in an effort to create a healthier environment in the school. Several other pop machines within O-House have either been removed or replaced as well. Remember that Faygo machine right by the gym? As of now there is one diet pop machine remaining among several juice and water machines.

The school has also dumped many of the sweet snacks that students used to buy in the lunch line or at the school store. These include: Rice Krispy Treats, Pop Tarts, and fruit snacks. Gone, too, are the chili cheese fries that were a big draw with students in school and at football games. Replacing these high-calorie treats are Sunchips with 30 percent less fat than regular chips, and Breyer’s Carb Smart ice cream, which is a fat-free alternative.

Senior Sadia Azziem, who typically buys food from the school store, says that the food selection is still not healthy. “They need to offer better things for students because Michigan has the highest obesity rate and kids get sick like adults,” she said.

Actually, Michigan ranks third among the 50 United States for obesity, according to a 2005 issue of Men’s Fitness magazine.

Head cook Diane Hamilton said that she has done what she can within her limits to keep today’s teens slim. She has spent seven years as a cook at Southfield High and has made many heathy foods available to students including yogurt, sandwiches, salads, and fresh fruit. But she says parents of the students need to encourage healthy eating habits at home as well.

Martha Ritchie, who is the manager of purchasing and food services for Southfield Public Schools, said that while Geltner does set standards for food, the food offered must meet the regulations of the United States Drug Administration. In June 2004 Congress passed a law requiring that all school districts in the National School Lunch Program must establish a wellness policy beginning in the 2006 school year. This includes nutrition guidelines for all foods served, U.S.D.A. regulations, a measurement of implementation, and goals for nutrition education and physical activity. As of now Ritchie says she has implemented a menu of low-calorie, low sodium, and low fat foods, but is in the process of revising it.

While healthy food is offered daily to students, they typically go for pizza and fries instead, as these foods are popular among teenagers anyway. Though pizza and fries might seem like the more delicious choices, they are not the healthy ones.

Ritchie said that she allows the school to serve pizza and fries to keep kids at school for lunch, instead of going out to eat. Though these items aren’t exactly healthy, they are OK in small amounts.

“One piece of pizza and an order of fries is fine, but overload is bad,” she said. Ritchie also believes in exercise as well as healthy eating, saying, “Kids need to exercise more.”