Filed under: Snacks, Business, Culinary Kids, America

Since everyone seems to have decided that more regulation is needed to control the obesity problem in children, it's not all that surprising to see companies agreeing to curb advertising and limit the availability of products left and right. In this case, an agreement was reached with Kraft Foods Inc., Mars Inc., Campbell Soup Co., Dannon and PepsiCo Inc with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a project of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association where the companies agreed to cut back on some unhealthy snacks.

At least, they said that they would try to.

The companies voluntarily agreed to "discourage schools from stocking vending machines with treats that are high in calories, fat, sugar and salt" and increase their promotion of healthier foods, defined by those that meet the "guidelines backed by the American Heart Association." The problem with this agreement is that schools can still stock whatever they want to and, in some schools, the administration is going to continue to stock what sells: junk foods.

But how much of a difference do the school vending machines make anyway? Not all that much, according to some students. "Junk food is great," said 13-year-old Victor Jimenez. Carlos Rodriguez, 13. "Kids will buy what they want," he said. "We just stop by the bodega on the way home."