Colorado mulls trans fat ban in schools

DENVER -- The nation's leanest state is taking its sweet time as it considers a proposal aimed at getting junk food out of schools.

A Colorado House committee was expected to discuss a bill that represents the nation's toughest regulations to keep trans fat away from students, but lawmakers delayed the hearing Thursday without explanation.

The bill would forbid trans fat in cafeteria lunches, but it wouldn't stop there. The proposed ban would apply to snacks in vending machines, bake sale goodies and popular "a la carte" items on lunch lines, requiring any such treats to be prepared without artery-clogging trans fats.

Small amounts of trans fats occur naturally in many meat and dairy products, but most come from partly hydrogenated cooking oil. Many cooking fats, such as shortening, are available without trans fat.

Colorado's measure would not apply to naturally occurring trans fats. Setting the proposal apart from other states with similar restrictions is a provision that extends to before- and after-school hours.

Colorado has the nation's lowest obesity rate, but the percentage is rising among the young. In 2007, the state's childhood obesity rate was the nation's third-best. By 2010 it ranked 23rd, the Colorado Health Foundation says, a change attributed to sedentary behavior and a growing childhood poverty rate. -- AP