While returning from a recent Model United Nations conference in Washington D.C., I stopped at a rest stop filled with fast food restaurants. Turned off by the thought of more grease and fat, which had coated much of what I ate over the weekend, I opted for the deli instead. As I stood in front of the counter I was disheartened by my choices, which were pretty much limited to king-sized versions of various candy bars. If this is any clue to how the average American eats on a daily basis, I think I’ve unearthed the key to the obesity epidemic in the United States.

At Stuyvesant, the administration has recently banned the sale of snack items deemed unhealthy. This has outraged some students, who have even gone so far as to suggest the implementation of snack machines that would carry chips and candy. Though these machines would supposedly sell “healthy” snacks as well, it’s unrealistic to assume that students would choose a granola bar over a bag of Skittles.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my sugar fix as much as anyone else does. As a teenager, I can understand the lack of motivation to eat well. Our metabolisms only start to slow down in time for us to pack on the freshman fifteen when we get to college. Right now, we think that because there’s no visual proof that the junk food we consume is damaging our body, that it’s harmless. But it’s not. As unfortunate as it is, the unhealthy food habits we develop as teenagers have the potential to stick with us through our adult lives.

Attempting to curb my sweet tooth is difficult to do with sales of Twix and Milky Ways passing right under my nose. But while I do indeed enjoy candy, I believe that mass consumption of artery-clogging food should be discouraged. Nowadays, when the cheapest, most addictive, and most readily-available foods are also the least healthy, teenagers should not be encouraged to indulge. It’s already difficult to break poor eating habits, and while I don’t want to ban junk food outright, when someone offers a vending machine full of sweets the task becomes impossible.

At Stuyvesant, where the average student sleeps less than half as much as a teenager should, consumption of candy and other snacks with a large number of calories does sound appealing. Loaded with simple carbohydrates and a ton of sugar, a pack of Starbursts or a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup seems like the perfect way to make it through third period Health.

But unlike food with high amounts of protein and complex carbohydrates, these snacks provide only a quick burst of energy. Added to the fact that students often use venti-sized Starbucks coffee’s to wake themselves up, and skip breakfast for an extra twenty minutes of sleep, this seemingly “energizing” snack will cause you to crash before you are even halfway through fourth period English.

Candy sales and the proposed implementation of snack machines aren’t the only problems: the school-supported cafeteria lunch system is flawed as well. For those who aren’t fortunate enough to be able to pay for lunch every day or bring it from home, the only option is the free lunch that is served in the cafeteria. At this point, we can’t blame unhealthy eating on the student, as their socioeconomic situation prevents them from doing so. The Department of Education should be more aware of the extremely large number of students who rely on their school to provide them with free lunch. School food has been shown by numerous studies, including a Dateline investigation in late 2004, to be unsanitary. Just because someone may not be able to afford expensive and healthy lunch every day, it does not mean they should be forced to eat food that is arguably bad for them.

In the end, the blame for unhealthy eating habits cannot be placed solely on one entity. While it is our responsibility to lead healthy lifestyles, it is also the responsibility of our school—and our parents—to help guide us. While tempting, continuing the sale of junk food items or supporting the implementation of snack machines is only going to encourage eating habits that will damage our health.