A look at what's in the vending machines in Tooele or Grantsville high schools should give any parent heartburn these days. Sure, there are a few choices that could be optimistically described as "healthy" but most of what's on offer is sugary, pre-processed, high-caloric junk food and soda pop. And that's not right from a health or moral standpoint.

We're in the middle of an obesity epidemic, and Tooele County is in worse shape than the rest of the state. According to a recent Utah Department of Health Survey, 63 percent of Tooele County residents are overweight or obese, compared to a state average of 57 percent. Our kids, too, are fat and getting fatter. Though the causes for this are many, one of the chief culprits is poor diet.

However, schools can play a pivotal role in helping to reverse this trend.

Thirty percent of the school districts in the nation now ban junk food in schools, according to a 2006 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's up significantly from only 4 percent in 2000, indicating a growing sentiment across the nation that schools should lead the way in the battle against childhood obesity.

The Tooele County School District has an opportunity to get ahead of Utah's other districts and remove all junk food and soda pop in school vending machines.

Some will argue that high school students will simply leave school to buy junk food if they can't find it in school vending machines. Others, particularly vending machine industry groups, say the amount of junk food kids typically consume at school isn't enough to make them fat -- the problem is at home.

Those arguments miss the point. Our schools' job is not to compete with 7-Eleven or to point fingers back at parents. It's to educate kids about healthy lifestyle choices and provide positive examples to emulate.

Like it or not, when a product appears in a school setting, it is tacitly endorsed by that school. Our schools should not be promoting junk food. Adults can eat what they what, but schools have a responsibility to offer only positive, healthy choices for our kids.