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Although the number of public high and middle schools who have made soda and sugary drinks available have decreased, students still have widespread access to other sugary beverages like fruit drinks and sports drinks. 

Researchers from the University of Michigan say that 25 percent of U.S. public high school students could buy regular soda in school during the 2010-11 school year, down from more than half who could do so just four years earlier and in the 2010-11 school year, 63 percent of middle and 88 percent of high school students could buy some type of sugary drink at school.

"Our study shows that, although schools are making progress, far too many students still are surrounded by a variety of unhealthy beverages at school," Lead Author Yvonne Terry-McElrath lead author of the said. "We also know that the problem gets worse as students get older." 

The study was published today in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

The studied nearly 3,000 public schools in the 8^th, 10^th and 12^th grades. 

The percentage of students in middle school who could buy soda also decreased, from 27 percent in 2006-07 to 13 percent in 2010-11.

Researchers examined the availability of competitive beverages in U.S. middle and high schools for five academic years, from 2006-07 to 2010-11. Competitive beverages are those sold by schools outside of meal programs, through vending machines, à la carte lines in the cafeteria, school stores, and snack bars.

Researchers say the high availability of sugar-sweetened beverages in schools was largely driven by sports drinks, which were available to 55 percent of middle and 83 percent of high school students in 2010-11. 

Sports drinks contain unhealthy amounts of added sugar and salt. Leading health authorities recommend sports drinks only for serious athletes engaged in vigorous physical activity, and do not recommend selling them in schools.

Researchers also found that although the number of middle school students with access to sports drinks declined significantly, from 72 percent to 55 percent, the same did not hold true for high school students. Eighty-three percent still had access to sports drinks in 2010-11, a slight drop from the 90 percent who did in 2006-07.

The study also revealed that although access to higher-fat milks, including 2 percent milk, declined among both middle and high school students, such beverages remained available to more than 36 percent of middle school students and 48 percent of high school students.

C. Tracy Orleans, senior scientist at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said that the progress being made to remove sugary sodas from our nation's middle and high schools is encouraging.

"But while this study does have good news, it also shows that we're not yet where we want to be, Orleans said. "It's critically important for the USDA to set strong standards for competitive foods and beverages to help ensure that all students across all grades have healthy choices at school."

The researchers noted that access to healthier drinks remained relatively stable for high school students and showed a small but statistically significant decline for middle school students, from 96 percent to 89 percent. 

Access to lower-fat milks stayed level among students at both school levels, and access to bottled water stayed roughly the same for high school students. For middle school students, there was a slight decline in access to bottled water, likely due to the removal of vending machines from some schools.

The nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold outside of the school meals program were last updated more than 30 years ago. Although the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 authorized the USDA to update them, it has yet to put forth a new proposal.