The results of a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2002 through 2008 said more schools in the U.S. are providing more nutritious foods and beverages to students.
The schools surveyed were equal-probability samples of public secondary schools in each state.
The principal and lead health-education teacher of each school answered the self-administered questionnaires and returned them to the CDC agency.
However, the CDC did not verify the validity of the schools' responses.
The survey asked questions about what foods and beverages are offered outside of the school's meal program.
Those foods and beverages included hallway vending machines, school stores, canteens or snack bars.
The participating schools answered the survey in 2008 and at least one other time between the conduction of the 2002 survey and the 2006 survey.
This helped show if any changes had been made within the state schools' systems.
Doug White, nutrition professor and department head of nutrition and food science, said he recommends fruits and vegetables be readily available to students.
"There's no added sugar, there's fiber and plenty of complex carbohydrates in fruits and vegetables," White said. "Fruit juices and soft drinks in moderation are OK, but they're high in fructose and are not nutrient dense."
According to the CDC report, 37 of the 40 states surveyed showed an increased number of state schools were offering candy and salty snacks low in fat.
In the 2006 to 2008 report, all 34 states surveyed stopped selling soda and fruit drinks not 100 percent juice.
Mississippi and Tennessee had the largest percentage of students unable to buy candy and salty snacks.
According to the CDC Web site, this is a significant improvement because both Mississippi and Tennessee have the highest adult obesity rates in the U.S., but have now adopted nutrition standards for state schools.
Of the states with an increase in the percentage of students that could not purchase candy and salty snacks, the 2006 to 2008 and the 2004 to 2008 spans yielded the greatest changes.
In Alabama, 292 high schools were surveyed by the CDC in 2002, 2006 and 2008.
In 2002, 13.5 percent of Alabama schools offered healthy, nutritious snacks to students.
By 2006, the percentage more than tripled to 42.5 percent.
The highest percentage yielded was 73.9 in 2008.
In 2006, the soda survey showed 30.3 percent of Alabama schools offered healthy soda or fruit beverages to students, and 18.1 percent of public high schools offered sports drinks.
By 2008, 68.3 percent of schools offered beverages that were 100 percent fruit juice and 35.2 percent offered healthy sports drinks.
Brenda Manning, assistant manager of Opelika High School cafeteria, said Opelika High and all other high schools in Lee County do not offer vending machine snacks to students because she said school officials think they are unhealthy.
"We offer fresh fruits and vegetables to students, and we do not fry anything in grease -- not even French fries," Manning said.
The CDC's Web site says more needs to be done to ensure foods and beverages provided to students meet nutrition standards.
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