Even though they are a little behind the ball, Hawaii’s education and health officials should be applauded for developing a fairly aggressive stance toward what constitutes healthy food and adequate exercise in public schools.

This is, after all, the state that boasts the highest consumption of Spam in the country, and we’re not talking per-capita. A glorious and welcoming cluster of islands, Hawaii’s list of delicacies and local favorites are endless--- and unfortunately many of them are deep-fried, full of sugar, or high in fat. But they taste good!

But it hasn’t been good for the waistlines of Hawaiian residents, particularly its children, who, according to the 2003-2004 National Survey of Children’s Health, ranked 29th out of the 50 states, with 13.3 percents of kids considered overweight or obese. The District of Columbia had the heaviest kids, with 22.8 percent of children possessing above average body mass indexes.

The new guidelines created by Hawaii’s education and health departments requires students to exercise at least 20 minutes per day and for foods (except produce or nuts) that are sold on campuses to contain less than 8 grams of fat, 200 calories per serving, and more than 2 grams per fiber.

The changes must be implemented in each school by 2011, which will be just enough time for kids to get used to oatmeal for breakfast instead of malasadas and brown rice and stir fry for lunch instead of Spam musubi.

Hopefully, I’m not kidding myself here. Even though kids will get their high-fat fix off-campus, at least they won’t be eating it at school.

Naomi Dillon, Senior Editor