Kids in New York City who want to raise money for their sports teams or clubs are going to have to get creative, but not in the kitchen. New regulations have effectively banned bake sales, which, traditionally, are major money makers for school children, according to The New York Times.

In fact, according to the assistant principal of organization at La Guardia High School, a bake sale could bring in $500 in one day -- enough to fund a trip or purchase new uniforms.

The education department actually developed the new wellness policy last year, but it's only now, in the new school year, that the effects are being felt. Other changes include healthier options in school vending machines and restrictions on what can be sold in school stores.

A recent study theorized that banning fast food commercials would have a positive impact on childhood obesity. After all, most kids watch an awful lot of television -- being tempted by burgers and fries (not to mention the toys they're packaged with) can be a big draw. Pair that with the potential sleep problems and loss of physical activity due to TV watching and you've got a recipe for childhood obesity. Or do you?

I asked That's Fit readers what they thought about banning fast food commercials. Here are the results:

• 56.6 percent think banning fast food commercials is a good idea. Remove the temptation and maybe kids would beg and plead for fast food less often.
• 34.5 percent of you think kids will still want fast food, whether they see it on commercials or not.
  
• 8.7 percent of you voted for other. Many comments focused on the fact that it shouldn't matter whether kids see commercials or not -- parents should determine the types of food that their family is eating. Kids shouldn't be the ones who dictate what they eat.

Do you think you're up on knowledge about childhood obesity? Take this AOL Health childhood obesity quiz and find out.

Most fast food meals make me feel a little ill -- yet often, when I catch a fast food commercial running on TV, the food looks so good I salivate like Pavlov's dog. That's exactly what those commercials are designed to do -- make you crave a trip to your nearest fast food joint for whatever triple-decker, bacon-packed, artery-clogging burger they're advertising this week.

A recent study reviewed data on nearly 13,000 children to determine how many advertising commercials most children view on TV each week. Researchers believe the commercials have a big impact on the amount of children who eat fast food. They estimate that banning fast food commercials from TV would reduce obesity in children ages 3-11 by 18 percent and by 14 percent in adolescents ages 12-18.

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My son is in the fifth grade this year. The school's cafeteria is small, so they scatter the times kids go out for recess and to lunch. As the oldest kids in the school, my son's class doesn't hit the cafeteria until 1:00. Considering he catches the bus at 7:30, that's a long span of time before lunch.

His teacher has a scheduled snack time at 10:30 to help tide the kids over until lunch. She sent home a note regarding snack time for the kids. She recommended a list of healthy snack options which was great. But what was more impressive was this: she's banned candy from her classroom.

I thought it was wonderful. The kids will still be allowed to have candy on special occasions such as Valentine's Day. But on a day to day basis, my son's teacher is promoting good nutrition that will give them the energy they need.

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Recent research shows that when elementary schools ban soft drinks, the improvement in kids' health is minimal.

Schools who have removed soda vending machines have done so in an effort to improve student health. But research shows that fifth graders who attend schools where soda is banned consume only 4% less than students who have access to soda at school.

As far as I'm concerned, 4% is 4% is 4%. It may be a small improvement, but it's an improvement none-the-less. And since soda bans are relatively recent -- starting in 2003 in California -- I think time will still tell. It takes time to change kids' tastes and preferences. Parents just have to get on board, too, and save soda for the rare treat or avoid it altogether.

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Children in one New Zealand school can celebrate their birthdays at school but they can't bring cakes to share with their classmates.

Oteha Valley primary school, north of Auckland, has banned birthday cakes as part of a larger fat crack-down by the area's Ministry of Education.

Here's why cakes are a problem: Oteha Valley has a large number of pupils born in September and October. As a result, there's the potential for up to four cakes to arrive per week in some classes. Parents were starting to believe they were required to provide a cake for their child's birthday. Since this was both untrue and unhealthy, the school has advised parents in a newsletter to stop sending cakes to school.

Not such a bad idea, I'd say. What do you say?

12 "healthy" foods that really aren't:

Why? Click to find out!

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If I could opt for one elective surgery, I'd choose something that would erase the loose post-pregnancy skin hanging from my tummy. I know it's been four years since my last 10-pounder was born but it seems no matter how fit or lean I get, the jiggle remains. A tummy tuck or liposuction would be ideal. I'm not sure I'd ever go through with these procedures, though. Something about choosing to have surgery for a non-medical reason makes me a little nervous. If it weren't so controversial, maybe I'd hop on the lipodissolve bandwagon.

Surgery is not required for lipodissolve. All it takes is a few injections of a chemical found in lecithin, the food ingredient derived from soybeans. Shots are given right into bulging body parts where they dissolve fat cells. Lipodissolve is becoming quite the rage, despite the fact that the FDA has not approved the compound used in the shots.

Lipodissolve just hasn't received much clinical study. Besides the possible pain, nausea, diarrhea, elevated liver enzymes and lumps at the injection site, who knows what long-term side effects of this treatment might surface. Lipodissolve is such an unknown that the state of Kansas has banned the marketing and sales of this quick fix.

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I was listening to Shawn Hannity's talk show today while the great debate on fast food continued. Should fast food joints be banned in the USA? Lots of people think so. Others think they should stay, and we should take responsibility for controlling excessive use of the most fat-laden caloric products.

Some believe fried drumsticks and onion rings are a sin to be made. Could it be true that the "evil" folks at KFC and Burger King are purposely trying to poison the American public? Maybe we should all just get a grip and learn to visit these restaurants less frequently or simply order the healthy choices while we're there.

As a fitness pro, I've mixed emotions on the subject. Knowing what horrible repercussions the worst of fast food can do to a person, of course I wish it didn't even exist. I wish the fast food execs would simply have a conscience and resolve to serve super healthy food. That sure would make a "know it all" like me happy.

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