Here̢۪s a joke: How do college students stay true to their diets?

Drop out.

We can̢۪t guarantee you̢۪ll find that funny, but one thing we know you won̢۪t is the state of health among children and young adults across the U.S.

A press release from the National Women̢۪s Health Resource Center reports incidences of obesity tripling among 12- to 19-year-olds.

While a good deal of responsibility does rest on the shoulders of the parents of these children, college campuses should take more initiative in providing healthy eating options for college students.

Our campus is not exempt from this recommendation. The selection of food at Fresno State is slanted heavily toward the fried, the fattening and the all-around artery-hardening.

The hungry student can pick up a fried chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A, one of several fried meat dishes from Panda Express along with some fried noodles or a side of fried rice, a pizza from Round Table, or something from Taco Bell or The Bucket. Both seem to specialize in grease.

Even the apparently “healthyâ€Â choice of a sandwich from Subway can quickly become just the opposite, if you want cheese, mayonnaise or any of the other calorie-laden sandwich sauces.

A quick look at the comments on The Collegian Online’s Web-Spe@k topic “How do you like campus food?â€Â reveals a trend: students desire a broader range of vegetarian eating options

No, salads aren̢۪t cutting it for us.

The Farm Market, located far from the center of campus, sells much of the produce the campus farms put out. As one potential fix, the university should give students greater access to this and other fresh food.

Also not funny, but it̢۪s a reason to stay in school.