Editor’s Note: Student Union is written by students at Hampden Academy, Brewer High School, John Bapst Memorial High School, Old Town High School, MDI High School, Ashland Community High School and Schenck High School in East Millinocket. The columns are a joint effort among the schools, the Bangor Daily News and Acadia Hospital. This column was written by Mount Desert Island High School students. Their adviser is Beth Blugerman.

Today vending machines are very popular in schools. About 98 percent of high schools, 75 percent of middle schools, and 40 percent of elementary schools have them. A recent study done by the vending industry showed that vending machine sales supplement American school districts with an estimated $750 million a year.

This money is commonly used for sports equipment, clubs, computers or other expenses. Renewed concerns about the health risks of soda have school officials questioning this practice.

What health and government officials want to do is replace the unhealthful snacks and soda with water, juices and healthful foods.

The president of the Utah Food Industry Association, James Olsen, said that kids may not purchase more healthful offerings, so schools are caught between wanting and needing the proceeds from soda sales, while recognizing their role in teaching good nutrition habits.

According to government figures, the average teenage boy drinks 11/2 cans of soft drinks a day, which is equivalent to eating 15 teaspoons of sugar, and the average teenage girl drinks one 12-ounce can of soda daily. In slightly less than 30 years, the annual consumption of soda more than doubled from 22.4 gallons in 1970 to 56.1 gallons in 1998.

A new study, conducted at Harvard by David Ludwig, who is with the Children’s Hospital in Boston, found that “drinking one can of soda a day increases a child’s risk of obesity by about 50 percent.” This new research refutes findings by social scientists at Michigan State, Michigan and Creighton universities that failed to link soda with obesity, bone loss, diabetes, dental cavities or other ailments.

According to the British medical journal The Lancet, “The chances of children becoming obese increased with each additional glass of sugar-sweetened drink that they consume per day.”

According to Surgeon General David Satcher, 61 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, and some 300,000 people die each year from obesity-related illnesses. Thirteen percent of children nationwide are considered overweight. Obesity has been linked to many illnesses, such as diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. An increasing number of girls may be early candidates for osteoporosis, because of a lack of milk.

Studies show that drinking one 20-ounce bottle of regular soda a day can contribute an extra 1,750 calories a week and up to 26 pounds a year in weight gain.

The caffeine is what makes the kids come back for more. A 12-ounce Pepsi One or Mountain Dew contains 55 mg of caffeine, a Diet Coke has 42 mg, and Coca-Cola Classic has 34 mg. An average 8-ounce cup of coffee contains 85 mg of caffeine.

Psychopharmacology’s Dr. Roland Griffiths of the National Institute on Drug Abuse says, “Research has shown that the dose of caffeine delivered in a single can of soft drink is sufficient to produce mood and behavioral effects.”

Mount Desert Island High School has three student soda machines and one for the teachers in their lunch area. The machines are not on until after the final bell at the end of the school day. The profit from the soda machines, about $5,000 annually, goes to the Athletic Boosters.

Though the soda machines bring in lots of money to schools, are they really such a good idea? This is a problem that may not be as easily solved as replacing sodas with water or juice.