Sloppy joes or pepperoni pizza? For many children, these and other fatty foods are the only choices at lunchtime. Millions of families do not have the funds to send their children to school with nutritious homemade lunches. They rely on subsidized meals provided through the National School Lunch Program.

But these meals do more than fill empty stomachs. They also help shape children's eating habits — often for the worse. And that should be important to anyone who cares about our country's future.

If we don't help children develop a taste for healthful foods, our nation soon will face a public health crisis. That's why, as a mother and a dietitian, I support the Healthy School Meals Act of 2010, a new bill in Congress that would help schools serve more healthful foods.

There is tremendous room for improvement. Children who eat subsidized school lunches are nearly four times as likely to eat two or more servings of fatty meat each day, compared with those who bring packed lunches, according to a new study conducted by University of Michigan researchers.

The study also found that kids who file through the school lunch line also consumed more sugary beverages and fewer fruits and vegetables than their peers. Not surprisingly, they also were more likely to be obese. They even had higher levels of LDL, or "bad," cholesterol.

The Healthy School Meals Act would encourage schools to serve more fruits, vegetables, and plant-based vegetarian meal options. It even would provide substantial financial incentives for schools that offer more low-fat, cholesterol-free entrees. It's a simple yet innovative way to reduce children's intake of saturated fat and cholesterol — and to trim future health care costs.

Congress has spent months debating how to improve access to medical care. But if our nation doesn't improve access to healthful foods and help young people develop healthy eating habits early in life, we're going to see more and more people in the doctor's office.

In 2008, the United States spent $147 billion on obesity-related medical costs alone. And the cost of hospitalizing obese children nearly doubled just between 1999 and 2005, according to a recent study published in Health Affairs.

Our children are more at risk of obesity than they ever have been. More than 30 percent of kids in 30 states now are obese. And more than 6 percent of children are extremely obese, according to a new study of more than 700,000 children.

We know that obesity dramatically increases the risk of diabetes, hypertension, and other medical problems. Indeed, largely because of risking obesity rates, an estimated one in three children born in 2000 will develop diabetes at some point, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The cost of treating this diabetes epidemic could bankrupt our health care system. As school food revolutionary Jamie Oliver often mentions, for the first time in history children are expected not to live as long as their parents.

Such cold, hard facts help explain why lawmakers in both political parties are calling for school lunch changes. They've been joined by Michelle Obama, who also is encouraging food companies to produce healthier products and parents to cook more meals at home.

Healthful school lunch options also enjoy broad scientific support. A recent school lunch study by the Institute of Medicine found that children need more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. And plant-based vegetarian school lunch options are backed by both the American Public Health Association and the American Medical Association.

The trick is getting it done. Many schools already are working hard to serve better options — but they face economic challenges. They need help. It's time for Congress to do its part by passing the Healthy School Meals Act.

Trulie Ankerberg is a dietitian in Atlanta and a member of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.