Rapper 50 Cent is entering the battle against obesity. He is one of the judges in a nationwide cooking competition that is aimed at promoting good health among school-age children. The Free Lunch Money Contest, which is sponsored by Glaceau, asks student chefs to come up with the most nutritious cafeteria lunch recipe. The grand prize is a $100,000 college scholarship.

50 Cent is part owner of Glaceau, which also sells his grape-flavored vitamin water, Formula 50. He told USA Today that while he maintains a healthy lifestyle now, at 29, he didn't always do so and thinks that it is tough for kids to stick to a healthy diet. Today, the rapper works out regularly and has his meals prepared by a personal chef, instead of indulging in fast food. He also doesn't drink alcohol, but admits to sneaking the occasional soda in a diet where he largely avoids sugar.

Legislators in Illinois have voted against a proposed junk food ban. The bill would have eliminated all junk foods from vending machines in elementary and middles schools, grades K-8, in the state.

Though the governor supported it, the rest of the law makers said that it was not enough to look only at the foods offered in vending machines. A bill that was to support good nutrition in schools should require that the nutritional content of cafeteria food be examined as well. Not only would the bill have to be more balanced, it would have to apply equally to all children. Some of the original drafts contained rules that varied by age and were full of product exceptions. For example, children through grade 5 "would be limited to beverages containing 100 percent fruit juice, while drinks for middle school students could contain as little as 50 percent juice" and pretzels would be allowed, though almost no other "chips" would be.

It sounds as though the school board, which is collaborating with the law makers, and the government are on the right track in their desire to have healthier kids. Once a balance is reached, the legislature is sure to push a bill through.

Not all school lunch options are created equal. Schools have dietary and budgetary guidelines to go by, but giving students the freedom of choice in choosing what they eat is not something that the guidelines can always take into account. My junior high school, for example, sold churros for 50(cents) and you can bet that many students were eating those fried sticks of cinnamon and sugar goodness at least a few times a week. I highly doubt that whatever nutritional standards the “taco casserole” was made to even considered the possibility that the meal would be augmented with a churro and a bag of Doritos. Parents generally only thought about their kids’ school lunches when they were asked for money on the ride to school and had no control over what the kids purchased with that money. Fortunately for parents who worry about their child’s health and waistline more than they used to, this isn’t the case anymore.