To fight obesity, legislation would ban candy and sugary beverages, and many schools would be required to offer more nutritious fare.

Schools across the country are pioneering big changes in the classroom -- to accomodate the 17 percent of U.S. children who are overweight or obese, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In this initiative, the American Academy of Pediatrics will educate its members about obesity to make sure pediatricians regularly measure a child's body mass index and identify a weight problem early. If a child is getting heavy, the physician can write an official prescription for healthy, active living.

"It wasn't that long ago that I was juggling a full-time job with the round-the-clock role of being a mom. And there were plenty of times when after a long day at work, when the fridge was empty and everyone was hungry, that I just ordered that pizza, because it was easier.

Research grants to help diminish obesity epidemic

An epidemic of obesity is compromising the lives of millions of American children, with burgeoning problems that reveal how much more vulnerable young bodies are to the toxic effects of fat. In ways only beginning to be understood, being overweight at a young age appears to be far more destructive to well-being than adding excess pounds later in life.

Editor's note: all week, CNN Newsroom, Rick's List and Eatocracy are teaming up to take a look the effects our dining choices have on our minds, bodies and wallets. Tune into CNN Newsroom daily from 9 a.m. -- 5 p.m. ET for on-air coverage and join in the discussion here on Eatocracy.

Let's all move to Finland! Although I enjoyed learning about how wonderful the fins are when it comes to their education system, I found this article to be quite frustrating to read. I find it impossible to compare nations based upon their education systems because there are numerous factors contributing to why some educational policies work for one nation and not another. I definitely think we could try to learn something from Finland, but to completely adopt their educational philosophy would most likely not produce the same results in the United States. Although, there are two pieces of advice I found helpful in this article. First of all, "all of Finland's schools receive the same per-pupil funding, in contrast to the United States where school funding is based upon a complex formula that uses a local-funding component and creates inequities between affluent and poor communities." By changing our system in this way we could create an even playing field amongst students, giving all students an equal opportunity to succeed. On a similar note, if college were free like in Finland, this would create equality as well. More educated citizens means a more successful society. Education has the ability to prevent poverty, crime and many other economic issues. Finland, unlike the United States has created a system in which education is a priority that is why they are doing so well.

This article emphasizes just how difficult it is to properly accommodate special needs children. The problem is, "'special needs' remains a vast umbrella, under which huddle all kinds of children, from the primary-school pupil with a mild hearing problem, to profoundly autistic adolescents and children with complex physical disabilities," therefore some children can be included into regular schools without too many issues, while others really do need to attend a school that caters specifically to special needs. I think we are in a very tough place right now, "observers say that problems with the current system [is] deeply entrenched." As much as I agree with Lamb that, "the more we can get the two worlds together, the better," I do not always think inclusion is a good thing for all students. I think it is great for students to see the differences amongst people and how we can all come together, but some students really do need the extra attention. I think it is more important to give these special needs students the proper attention instead of being frugal about government spending. As the article stated, inclusion done properly is expensive and same with special needs schools. But, aren't our students worth it? Apparently not, considering education funding in general is always the first place our government makes cuts.