Updated

Students celebrating a birthday at a northern Kentucky elementary school will have to do without birthday cake -- or any kind of food for that matter.

The Kentucky Enquirer reports Burlington Elementary School recently revised its wellness policy to address the growing childhood obesity rate nationwide.

It's among a few schools that have a no-food-for-birthdays rule.

Kathy Reutman is in charge of making sure the wellness policies for Boone County schools meet federal guidelines.

She says about 37 percent of the county's children are at risk of being obese.

The federal government doesn't necessarily have a food ban, but it does encourage healthy eating and has made a series of rule changes and recommendations in the past few years toward that end.