Today, between 15 and 25 percent of adolescents in America are overweight or obese. This weight problem among teenagers has been linked in most of the cases to the poor diet and lack of exercise of typical American students. The health consequences for many young people are devastating. Childhood diabetes, for example, has increased to epidemic proportions.

“You can actually be obese and still be undernourished with regard to important nutrients. We shouldn’t be telling people to eat less, we should be telling people to eat differently,” Gladys Block, professor of epidemiology and public health nutrition at the University of California, said to MSNBC.com.

Here in Coral Gables High, students have three meal choices. This is the salad bar, the food served in the cafeteria, and the fast-food available in any of the four kiosks. The cafeteria food contains a serving of carbohydrates, a choice of white or red meat, vegetables or fruits, and milks or juices.

“[In the school cafeteria] we serve everything they require downtown, they watch the carbs and the fats. Everything is reduced,” Vera Perkins, food distributor, said.

Additionally, the food served in the kiosks and the pavilion consists of pizza, hamburgers, and carbonated drinks. A regular slice of pepperoni pizza contains about nine grams of saturated fat. Eating two slices of a pepperoni pizza will exceed a day’s recommended intake. Soft drinks contain nine teaspoons of sugar per 12-ounce can. Recent surveys show that the average American consumes about 20 teaspoons of sugar per day. That’s twice as much as what should be consumed according to the United States Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A).

“Kids nowadays are eating too much junk food. Schools should not sell foods with such high amounts of sugar and no nutritional value, Idania Hernandez, nurse, said

For many students at Gables, the idea of a school meal is a slice of pizza or junk food taken out of one of the many vending machines at school. Students who choose such meals are often eating too many carbohydrates and sweets, and are not meeting the requirements of the U.S.D.A food pyramid, which states that at least three to five servings of vegetables and two to four servings of fruits should be taken daily to maintain a healthy weight.

In addition to bad eating habits, most teenagers in America have very sedentary lifestyles. They are not burning enough calories because they are spending too much time watching T.V, playing video games, or surfing the internet. A typical American student spends about four hours a day watching television.

For children in elementary schools, physical education is a requirement. By requiring this subject, elementary schools are creating healthier kids and reducing their chances of becoming obese. For a student to be able to graduate here in Coral Gables High he/she only needs one year of P.E.

“I know exercise is good for me, but I hate Physical Education, I’m only taking it because it’s mandatory,” Nicole Corrales, sophomore, said.

Many epidemiologists and nutritionists believe that the answer to the obesity problem in America can be easily solved with a change of lifestyle and better eating choices.