Students Fighting Obesity With Nutritious Foods

As The News On 6 previously reported, studies show Oklahomans have a hard time when it comes to getting healthy, and obese children usually lead to overweight adults.

According to the Oklahoma institute for child advocacy, almost 40% of Oklahoma's youth are either overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. This epidemic has health and economic consequences for children and the state of Oklahoma.

Now, Tulsa Public Schools hope providing extra fruits and veggies will help change that with their fruit and vegetable offering bar. District officials are providing nutrition education along with healthy options so students know what is good for them.

The whole idea is for kids to choose an orange over French fries.

Designed to encourage kiddos to come back for seconds, endless fruits and veggies are now available buffet style, and it's more popular than you might think. When I asked Paula Carbin why she chooses to eat healthy her answer was right to the point.

"Because you don't want to get fat," said Paula Carbin who is a kindergartner at Tulsa Public Schools.

Other students agree and say they want to eat healthy foods so they can get strong.

By Margaret Stokes, NewsOn6.com anchor/reporter & Chris Howell, Video Journalist