Herald-Dispatch.com
Jan 14, 2008
By Bill Rosenberger
The Herald-Dispatch
The battle to promote healthy diets through schools is intensifying in West Virginia, a state that fares poorly in most health studies.
Days after a legislative interim committee recommended legislation to ban soft drinks and sugary snacks in West Virginia's public schools, the state's Department of Education took action and banned the sale of caffeinated beverages in schools.
The 8-1 vote, taken Jan. 10, is another step aimed at making the public school play a key role in the fight against childhood obesity, a severe problem in the Mountain State that is only getting worse.