We’re fat. That’s right, I said it. We’re fat, our kids are fat and our goddamn pets are fat too. No matter how many times we hear that obesity is one of the biggest killers of Americans today, we just can’t seem to control ourselves.

So Gov. Schwarzenegger has stepped up to the portion-controlled plate in the name of the kids and signed legislation that says (insert obnoxious accent here) “If you can’t control yourselves I’ll do it for you!”

At the Summit on Health held at Cal Expo this month, Schwarzenegger announced his plan to curb the “obesity epidemic” among children by eradicating soda and junk food sales in public schools.

Sure, parents should be responsible for teaching their kids proper eating habits. They should also be responsible for teaching their children about cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, safe sex and, you know, all the other dangers of the world that they’re exposed to by age 10. But parents, time and again, have proven themselves to be worthless.

We’ve known about this obesity problem for at least five years and check it out: the kids are still fat and still spending all of their lunch money on Twinkies from the vending machine (not to mention the dime sack in third period).

Sacramento State Kinesiology professor Dr. Scott Modell does not feel that the new law will reduce childhood obesity, but that “it does send a message to parents and students that junk food is not healthy.”

The larger problem, according to Modell, is the “culture of our society” which needs to change into “one that teaches and supports a healthy lifestyle for youth.”

The American Beverage Association (go figure) has voiced their disapproval of the new law and Steven Arthur of the Grocery Manufacturers Association stated that it should be up to “local school districts to decide what should be available to students.”

If schools showed any concern with student health whatsoever then it would be, but our current physical education programs are an absolute joke and its bovious that food options are a problem. Schools, understandably, are interested in our money and, unfortunately, not our health. Sac State is no exception.

This campus, with its apparent health policy of “If you don’t want to be fat, don’t eat here,” has less healthy food options than it does parking spaces. Sac State may make bank off of Burger King, but isn’t our health worth something too?

Already, the governor’s bill has spurred “initiatives launched by private companies, health plans, fitness centers and others to make healthier food choices more accessible,” according to the Sacramento Bee.

If we insisted upon healthier choices or even, gasp, only healthy choices from our food providers on campus, then certainly plenty of eateries eager to stay in business would meet our demand. Instead they keep us bloated and we keep them in business.

This governator of ours has done something both realistic and helpful by forcing health down our throats. He’s like the personal trainer those fat little kiddies never wanted. Now if only he’d come around to Sac State. Jen White can be reached at [email protected]