Arizona educators could begin a test ban on soft drinks and junk food on eight public schools next year, a move encouraged by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The state Board of Education will vote at its Jan. 26 meeting whether to ban the sale of junk food and soft drinks as part of a pilot program at four elementary schools and four high schools during next school year. The schools will be selected from a pool of volunteers at the Jan. 26 meeting. Easy access to soft drinks at school has been blamed, in part, for an increase in the number of overweight children.

At the same time, schools rely on the thousands of dollars the vending machines bring in to pay for student activities like student council and clubs. Some local schools are already testing the waters by eliminating soft drinks from machines and others are on the brink of offering only water and fruit drinks.

“Each 12-ounce serving of a carbonated, sweetened soft drink contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar,” according to a report released Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Sugared soft drink consumption has been associated with increased risk of overweight and obesity, currently the most common medical condition of childhood.”