LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Former President Clinton has honored 43 schools for their anti-obesity efforts, including one that banished candy from its building and another that offers a student fitness club.

In a ceremony Wednesday at his presidential library in Little Rock, the former president recognized the schools from a dozen states for their participation in the Healthy Schools Program, a joint initiative of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association.

"Despite the rising food prices and constrained budgets impacting programs nationally, these schools are using innovative approaches to curb the country's alarming rates of childhood obesity," Clinton said. "Schools around the country are stepping up and making progress."

The schools honored included Kenly Elementary School in Tampa, Fla., which banished candy from its building.

The Healthy Schools Program started in 2006 and now includes nearly 3,000 schools and more than 1.66 million students. It provides in-person support to 1,364 schools and aims to boost that number to 8,000 by 2010.

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