Given the number of children who are overweight or obese, I wasn’t surprised when the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that children be screened for high cholesterol beginning as early as 9 to 11 years of age. It’s not surprising because the health consequences of high cholesterol — such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and cancer — begin in childhood.

If we continue to ignore the problem of childhood obesity, the total number of obese individuals in this country will increase from 99 million to 164 million by 2030. This level of obesity will result in 7.8 million more cases of diabetes, along with 6.8 million cases of coronary heart disease and stroke and 539,000 more cancer cases than what would be expected if epidemic remained at its current level.

If we’re going to do anything about this problem, we have to help kids with high levels of cholesterol lead healthier lives. There are drugs out there to lower blood cholesterol, but since we don’t know the consequences of these medications over a lifetime of use, it would be irresponsible to treat children with them without at least starting with simple lifestyle changes.

The Center for Disease Controlnotes that soda is a big problem, and that much of the consumption happens at school — specifically, thanks to vending machines. While school breakfasts and lunch programs must meet federal standards, foods sold outside of those programs are largely exempt from such requirements. In Texas, access to school vending machines is only limited until after the final lunch period.

What better way to prevent children from habitually consuming sugary beverages than to start in our schools by banning soda machines, right?

Well, not so fast. Although many schools think they’ve won the battle by making strides to ban soda machines, the war has just begun. You see, in many instances, soda is merely being replaced by other sugary drinks like juices and sports drinks that boast an equally high calorie and sugar content as their caffeinated, carbonated soda counterparts.

A recent study showed states that banned only soda in their schools demonstrated almost no improvement on the amount of sugary drinks consumed by elementary and middle school students. Between 26-29% of students in these schools chose the alternative sugar-enhanced drinks like those mentioned above.

However, the states that banned all sugar-heavy and artificially sweetened beverages from the machines showed marked improvement in consumption, with 14.9 percentage points fewer students reporting access at schools compared to those states with no policy. Thus, school-based policy interventions must be comprehensive if they are to be effective.

As parents, we must help our kids kick the sugar habit (or, preferably, not start it at all). When your kids are thirsty, offer them water or other healthy drinks like unsweetened tea and skim milk. Over time, they will not crave the addictive sugary drinks.

Most importantly, we must lead by example. Don’t order a Coke with your dinner while you make you daughter drink skim milk! Set a good example and they will follow suit.

We all want our children to lead healthy and happy lives, but this won’t happen if they’re overweight or obese. If we don’t do something soon, our kids will face a lifetime fighting chronic disease. So, let’s get busy and help our kids stay healthy!