Soft drinks will be banned from California high schools in an effort to curb childhood obesity.

The new laws impose a campus ban on the sale of sodas, set a new nutritional standard for vending-machine snacks, and require more fruits and vegetables in meal planning.

The former bodybuilding champion and fitness expert says the new rules are all part of a new effort to fight childhood obesity.

Obesity a Preventable Cause of Death

"California is facing an obesity epidemic. Over the past decade, Californians have gained 360 million pounds," Schwarzenegger said at a conference on childhood obesity. "And more and more, children are becoming part of the problem."

Officials say obesity threatens to surpass tobacco as the leading cause of preventable death in California. It causes more than $20 billion in health-related costs each year.

Lawmakers made California the first state in the nation to ban the sale of soft drinks in middle and elementary schools two years ago. One of the bills signed by the governor Thursday, SB965 by Senator Martha Escutia, will expand that ban to include high schools.

Beginning July 2007, students will be allowed only to buy water, milk, and some fruit and sport drinks that have limited sweeteners.

High Nutritional Standards Set

The governor also signed another Escutia bill, SB12, which will require foods sold in school vending machines to meet high nutritional standards and regulate the number of calories that can come from fat and sugar. It also takes effect next July.

SB 281, from Senator Abel Maldonado, also provides $18.2 million during this fiscal year to offer more fruits and vegetables in school meal programs.

The combination of bills signed by Schwarzenegger set a new standard nationally for healthful school foods, according to the Washington, DC-based Center for Science in the Public Interest.

"The money from soda contracts comes out of children's and parents' pockets. Coke, Pepsi, and other junk-food marketers enjoy being in schools because they know it is one of the only places they can target kids without parental interference," Margo Wootan, the center's nutritional policy director said in a statement.

Restrictions Unnecessary?

"But in California, parents have clearly had enough, and leaders of both parties took notice," she said.

Susan Neely, president of the American Beverage Association, calls the ban on sodas "unnecessary" and says students and parents would have been better served by a voluntary program.

"We believe this complex problem would be more effectively addressed by educating students on the importance of living a balanced lifestyle," Neely said in a statement. "Not by imposing unnecessary restrictions mandated by SB965."