New warnings that obesity is an epidemic among America's youth have given great significance to that question, especially in schools.

Frequently cited federal statistics say almost 14 million children - 24 percent of those ages 2 to 17 - are obese, and 8.6 million more children are at risk for obesity. Obese children are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.

Some parents are scrutinizing school lunch menus and questioning the proliferation of vending machines in schools. But are they looking at the right things?

Dr. Debbi Borchers, a Cincinnati-area pediatrician, says yes and no.

"As a parent, I've worked the cafeteria line," said Borchers.

"I've spoken to the cafeteria workers, and they feel many pressures with lunch choices. ... They have regulations to have so many servings of different food groups. Sometimes when they try to substitute healthy choices, they find that little is eaten and much is wasted."

Borchers said that if you present a food to a child 10 to 15 times, he'll eventually try it.

"If schools continue to offer healthy foods, children will eventually try some of the food, if they are hungry enough," she said.

Hunger is the key. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently called on schools to remove soda and snack machines. And federal guidelines discourage - but don't outlaw - the sale of minimally nutritious foods in schools.

Parents packing lunches sometimes don't help. Store-bought meals, such as Lunchables, include candy and processed meats with more additives than the food at school, said Treva Whitlock, director of child nutrition at Lakota schools.

Also, in lunches that have been unrefrigerated for two hours, bacteria grow on meats, she said.

Federal guidelines for school cafeterias require foods to be kept at safe temperatures, that no more than 30 percent of calories - averaged over a week - come from fat, and that lunches include the recommended food groups.

Fat isn't the only concern. Ludlow schools stopped using sugar-sweetened cereals because of recent brain research, said Barbara Martin, assistant superintendent.

"During testing, our cafeteria serves foods that are linked by brain research to high 'thinking' performance - cereal, oats, fruit, yogurt, eggs, etc. We do not serve anything with syrup," she added.

Synthetic food dyes, additives and flavorings like MSG (monosodium glutamate) are linked to attention deficit disorders, behavior problems, and other ailments, says the Feingold Association, a national parent group .

Most important, if parents eat healthy, kids probably will too, Borchers said.

"It is not enough to tell children to eat fruits and vegetables; we have to do so ourselves," she said.

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