I’m the one you want, Palo Alto High School. I am the enemy. I go by many names-the Man, the Establishment.
He-Who-Shalt-Take-Away-Your-Cheetos. I am the Bill Gates to your Steve Jobs. I am the coyote to your roadrunner. I am Kyle’s mom. You are Cartman. I want a healthier population. I want more exercise and less obesity. But I want you to want them too.

We agree, mostly. Teenagers aren’t children. Many can drive, vote, make their own decisions on how to spend their time and money. They can choose what to eat, and they’re by-in-large, thinkers (non-thinkers probably aren’t reading this anyway).

So I’m not here to preach about nutrition. But I am here to argue that sedentary lifestyle and obesity are problems our society (soon, your society) is facing. As a Stanford medical student, I come face to face with the consequences of poor diets and lack of exercise all the time in the hospital and at the free clinics we run. Think of a common disease, and there’s probably some sort of association with obesity or lack of exercise. And where’s a reasonable place to start attacking obesity? Schools. Young people. First, young people who are overweight are more likely to stay overweight throughout their adult lives. And second, you’re stuck here. It’s a law. You have to go to school. So shouldn’t the school have some responsibility to keep you safe and healthy? It’s their obligation; it should be no different when it comes to healthy food. Can we agree on that?

So here’s the compromise. (Come on. You knew it was coming.) If schools need to provide healthy, nutritious options, how about the students decide what those healthy options are? Speak up. Make your voice heard. Otherwise, someone else will eventually decide for you. Note: this is, unfortunately, how democracy works. That whole "representative government" thing. So you might as well start now.

What about ditching the soft drinks? Sell Odwalla, or 100% juices instead (both bottled by Coca-Cola). What about the bake sales? Substitute some of the butter or sugar for applesauce. Sell fresh smoothies instead of cookies. Options abound!

The best part is that the school district already has a bunch of do-gooder parents and educators that are pushing for similar goals-the Healthy School Lunch Committee. They have the numbers, the facts, the data, the menus, the information-all you have to do is ask for it! We’re not going to make any progress by trying to eliminate every Little Debbie snack from every vending machine. But if we compromise, if we can realize we both have similar goals-increasing the nutritional value of foods at school while maintaining student choice and variety, then we’re already 90% of the way there.

If we don’t do something, we’re liable to become victims of our own success. So wealthy and well-fed that we develop health problems because of it. In a couple years, you’ll be counted by the census and academics as adults. And in a couple of years, 46% of you won’t get enough exercise; 21% of you will be obese. If we continue down this road, the number of people with long-term disease, taking multiple medications and seeing multiple doctors, will skyrocket. And it will affect our ability to see doctors when we get very sick, and will affect the amount of money we all spend on health care. Don’t believe me? Go see Super Size Me.

So why not exercise your voice? Show the country that teenagers understand the consequences of poor health, and show the country that they can create positive change in their schools and communities. (And if that’s not enough, it’ll look great on a resume.)

Graham Walker

First Year Stanford Medical Student