Following a report that said Utah schools have fewer restrictions on junk food than almost anywhere else, state and Utah County education officials say they're making strides to improve the nutritional offerings available to students.

A study released earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2006, 83 percent of Utah schools sold chocolate candy in vending machines or the school store. That was more than double the national average of 40 percent. Students could get salty, fatty snacks in 76 percent of Utah schools, as opposed to 47 percent nationally. And 86 percent of state schools sold soda or non-juice fruit drinks, a hefty increase over the 65 percent that did across the country. In all three categories, Utah led the nation.

That's all about to change, said Charlene Allert, assistant director of the state's Child Nutrition Program. She said the real problem has been in school vending machines, where the selection is not dictated by the federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans -- unlike school-prepared breakfasts and lunches. Whereas all the food students eat in the cafeteria has met or exceeded those guidelines for the past five years, less-healthy options have been right around the corner in the coin-operated machines, she said.

"Vending machine sales are really outside school meals, but a lot of times, people from the outside think, 'OK, they're just selling all this food in school meals that is not healthy for kids,' " Allert said.

But in April, the state board of education mandated that individual school districts amend their wellness policies to address vending machines. It's up to each district what its policy will be, but the state provided recommendations including the removal of anything with more than 300 calories and foods considered to be of "minimal nutritional value," including sodas and candy.

Allert said reports like the one from the CDC play a role in inspiring policy reform, but the state has been moving in that direction anyway.

"If they show in any way that Utah falls short of the mark, we try to address that," she said. "I think everybody's interested in seeing kids be healthy. I think we're all interested."

Though Utah's obesity numbers traditionally have been lower than the national norm, they have grown substantially in the past decade, said Michael Friedrichs, an epidemiologist with the Bureau of Health Promotion. New data compiled this week suggests that 11.7 percent of elementary school students are overweight and 9.7 percent are obese. In high school, 8.7 percent of students are overweight. Among third-grade students, the number of overweight boys increased by 54 percent from 1993 to 2006, with girls following with a 38-percent increase.

"There is a problem," Friedrichs said. "A substantial number of kids are overweight or obese."

He added that part of the problem is a lack of support among state lawmakers for funding school health initiatives.

Utah's school dietary woes are the subject of a new documentary film, "Killer at Large," which is screening in parts of Utah County this month. Provo filmmaker Steven Greenstreet said the new vending-machine policy is a step in the right direction.

"I think it's an obvious decision," he said. "We talked to students who just forgo school lunch altogether and get their entire day's food out of the vending machines."

But, Greenstreet said, the problems extend beyond what can be solved with a calorie limit. People can't rely on the government alone to solve the problem, he said. Real change must begin with students and parents demanding better nutritional choices in schools.

"If we're going to wait around for the government to kind of wake up and change the policies themselves, we're going to be in the year 3000 before that happens," he said.

In Provo, Child Nutrition Supervisor Jenilee McComb has been working on a vending-machine policy that will be in place when students return to school August 18. She said she's excited to narrow the nutritional gap between what's available in the cafeteria and the machines.

"There'll be nothing sold out of the vending machines like soda pops or things that are pure sugar," she said. That includes gum, licorice and hard candy, she said.

Provo schools will also impose a 300-calorie limit on vending-machine fare. McComb said that's critical in a country where portion sizes have steadily been growing over the past few decades.

"It's gotten to where children believe that supersize is a normal serving," she said. "If you get one of those big muffins, if you look, it's saying that that big muffin is really three servings."

But McComb said she's optimistic that if you give kids healthy choices, they'll acquire a taste for them and develop eating habits that will help them down the road.

"If we're offering healthy choices to students, eventually, they're going to like the healthy choices," she said.

In the Alpine School District, spokeswoman Ronda Bromley said schools have been addressing the vending-machine problem slowly over several years.

Two junior high schools have removed vending machines altogether and the others are now offering healthier choices, she said. Food vending machines now contain only nuts and crackers, and drink machines contain water, milk, juice and Gatorade products. The high schools have lagged behind in making big changes, she said.

"Our high schools are obviously being encouraged just like everyone else, but they just aren't there yet," Bromley said.

And in the Nebo School District, candy and gum is already prohibited and will be joined by other foods in the next school year, said Bill Vest, supervisor of food services. Beginning July 1, nothing more than 250 calories could be sold in the machines.

"We've had our vending companies take those particular items out," he said.

Nebo does allow sodas in machines, but those machines are turned off during every lunch hour, Vest said. He said he sees the state moving toward imposing more and more junk-food restrictions and anticipates that the Utah Legislature will mandate change within the next several years.

"It is a trend," he said. "It's going to be stiffer regulations by 2012."

• Ace Stryker can be reached at 344-2556 or at astryker@heraldextra.com.