Too many American children are obese, partly because of terrible eating habits. Fortunately the government has new standards for school lunches that can have a positive impact.

The new rules for school lunches, revealed last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sound laudable and sane.

Among the standards to gradually be implemented over the next three years are limiting the amount of starchy vegetables (such as potatoes, corn and green peas) to one cup a week; serving only unflavored 1 percent milk or fat-free flavored or unflavored milk; increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables — especially green, leafy vegetables — so that kids are exposed to a variety of vegetables; and requiring that half of the grains served be whole grains. Schools also have to gradually reduce the amount of sodium in meals over 10 years, with the goal of reducing it by more than half.

Parents should be happy.

Obesity is one of the biggest problems in this country, so people are searching for innovative ideas to attack the problem.

One possible approach is to tax sodas and other sugary drinks. It seems logical, but of course one has to deal with the food and beverage lobbyists. Also, some Americans hate the idea of the government dictating anything, though here it’s just a tax to cover the costs we as a society pay for these beverages.

A recent study, however, provides some ammunition for proponents of the soda tax.

Millions of people would lose about a pound or more a year if large taxes were tacked onto regular soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages such as sport drinks and fruit drinks, a new analysis shows.

A soda tax of 20% or 40% would generate about $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion in annual tax revenue. The 40% tax would cost the average household about $28 a year, the research shows.

“If the tax money was used to serve healthier foods in schools and build parks and recreation centers, it could lead to even more weight loss,” says the study’s lead researcher, Eric Finkelstein, a health economist and associate professor of health services at Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School.

The idea of a substantial tax on soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages has been the subject of hot debate in recent years among national, state and local policymakers. Public health advocates have been pushing for a hefty tax as a way to reduce consumption of these products to help people lose weight and become healthier.

Currently, two-thirds of people in this country are overweight or obese, which is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and many other health problems. Obesity costs the country roughly $147 billion a year in increased medical expenses, according to another study by Finkelstein.

The soda tax seems like an obvious solution, and perhaps this study and others like it will start to tip the balance.

Obesity is a national epidemic, and First Lady Michelle Obama is trying to do something about it with an emphasis on exercise and healthy food like fruits and vegetables. But that apparently is a real problem for Sarah Palin. Here’s her idiotic quote:

Take her anti-obesity thing that she is on. She is on this kick, right. What she is telling us is she cannot trust parents to make decisions for their own children, for their own families in what we should eat. And I know I’m going to be again criticized for bringing this up, but instead of a government thinking that they need to take over and make decisions for us according to some politician or politician’s wife priorities, just leave us alone, get off our back, and allow us as individuals to exercise our own God-given rights to make our own decisions and then our country gets back on the right track.

Palin is a complete buffoon.