The Texas Department of Agriculture’s Commissioner Sid Miller announced that the state would be putting fried foods and sugar-packed drinks back into the school system this Thursday. According to the Bangor Daily News, the move has raised stark criticism from nutrition experts, who argue that the policy will only contribute to the state’s devastating childhood obesity problem.

Miller said that the policy would restore choices for districts that have had trouble meeting obesity guidelines over the past ten years. “They have resulted in millions of dollars of food not being eaten and thrown away, and I’m here to put an end to that,” the Commissioner said.

There has been a powerful debate around the issue of providing healthy school lunches in the U.S., with states like California taking measures to ban soda from the lunchrooms.

The American Heart Association said that surveys show most parents support higher nutritional standards for the lunches their children receive in school, adding that the decision seemed to make little sense.

“Commissioner Miller’s attempt at addressing childhood obesity is well intentioned, but it fails to align with evidence-based policies that are supported by the AHA,” the group wrote, adding that restricting access to sodas and heavily fried foods has already been proven to have a mitigating effect on childhood obesity rates.

According to the CDC, nearly 16 percent of Texas high school students were considered obese in 2013, representing a 2 percent increase over the last decade. The policy change will take effect July 1, and fried foods and sugary drinks will appear in Texas lunchrooms across the state in the new school year.