A Research Project On Food And Nutrition, Watching Jamie 's School Dinners Documentary Series, And Internet Research

Nutrition is important to understand because it is a significant contributor to the health and wellness of a human being. Nutrition can determine the weight of a person, the performance of organs and the body’s ability to prevent or accelerate certain diseases. Health and nutrition can be influenced by several factors such as family, friends, peers as well as physical and mental stress. As a young child, the immediate family is the biggest influence on nutrition because they are the first role models and establish the initial habits that the individual will develop. Through daily meal plans given to children, they can develop a standard of care in regard to nutrition and then incorporate key food groups into their daily diet. A child’s

One of the most controversial issues today is the question of how to address childhood obesity. Because of the large proportion of meals that children, particularly low-income children, consume in schools, cafeteria food has been targeted by dietary reformers as in need of a major overhaul. However, while many different types of new school menus have been proposed, the extent to which healthier foods can be offered remains controversial. Opponents to reform state that children will not eat healthier lunches, and that changing the food that children eat will have minimal impact, since the children will either bring food from home or eat food at home that is more 'kid friendly.'

Eating a well balanced meal is crucial for someone in their early childhood stage. During this time period, between the ages of two and six, a well-nourished child can grow up to three inches and gain up to four and a half pounds per year (Berger, 2010). Children at this age also need fewer calories per pound of body weight than infants do. Since children need less food than they did before and many do not diminish the intake of their food consumed, obesity becomes a problem. The article “Child and adolescent obesity: a part of a bigger picture” states, “The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity has risen substantially worldwide in less than one generation” (Lobstein, 2015). Obesity is a main factor that is present and can lead to other diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. The article also states that, “The food industry has a special interest in targeting children. Not only can the companies influence children’s immediate dietary preferences, but they can also benefit from building taste preferences and brand loyalty early in life, which last into adulthood” (Lobstein, 2015). Once children are hooked on the foods they eat during their childhood, they tend to follow those habits as they grow up. Children in low-income families are vulnerable to obesity because they rely on cheap fast food.

Good nutrition is critical for proper development from infancy to adolescent (Parke & Gauvain, 2009). In Jeremy’s house, nutrition is very important. I did not see any of the children eating snacks or sugary sweets. Jeremy eats a lot of vegetables and fruit in his home.

Initially, children were malnourished during the post-World War II era. Now children are stuck trying to wedge themselves in between the door to a long, healthy life, which may be brutally cut short simply due to the way they ate in school. Eating habits and diets aren’t questioned by the children until they are faced with the decision of choosing the best nutrient filled option. Multiple choices, abundant in carbohydrates, proteins and good, natural fats surround a child, yet the child is an environment laced with advertising, thus alluring a child into picking fries instead of the mixed steam vegetables. Soon, children realize the chocolate taste better than the fruit, yet no child knows at the age of five that fruit doesn’t give its victims

Nutrition plays an important role in the school environment. Unfortunately, proper nutrition has made its way in to the lunch room, yet has not had the impact that was originally projected. In the video, “Uproar Over School Lunches”, children’s protest to the lunch menu leads to a huge waste concern (ABC News, 2012). The video states that schools have reported a 50% increase in lunch waste (ABC News, 2012). This is huge! It begs to question, if the food is not being consumed, how effective is the nutrisous menu?

Healthiness is not an entitlement, it is a right. As a result, it is becoming increasingly important to focus on current food standards to not only create a brilliant, but also abled-bodied generation of future leaders. However, current guidelines established by the National School Lunch Act only address one-third of a minimum daily nutrients requirement. In fact, a recent seven-month survey found that only 22% of the student body view their lunch as nourishing compared to 94% of school staffs (School Nutrition Standards). The disproportions between students and non-students are due to the distasteful stigma associated with school lunches and requires a change of policy. Even though school nutrition standards exist, they inadequately address the essential dietary requirements of the student population and should be modified after successful guidelines in countries like Japan and Finland, and incorporate student opinion to satisfy the public and maintain health.

The harsh stereotypes of cafeteria food and negative connotations of assumedly horrible lunch ladies are as old and traditional as the American school system itself. Interestingly, the concept of the school lunch is one that has been revolutionized over and over to fit the needs of American youth. The overarching program that oversees and occasionally refurbishes the American schooltime meal is the National School Lunch Program, put on through the United States Department of Agriculture. In 2012 this program provided over 30 million children meals that were nutritionally sensible as well as fiscally responsible (United States Department of Agriculture, 2013), frequently offering these meals at reduced or no cost to children otherwise unable to afford them. In addition to keeping costs low to accommodate low-income students, the National School Lunch program has found that it must also balance an increase in highly-nutritious foods to battle childhood obesity, with the task of appeasing the increasingly picky eaters that comprise American youth. It is within the realm of trying to strike this precarious and delicate balance that the National School Lunch Program has created the problem of children refusing the nutrients they are being provided, therefore wasting insurmountable amounts of food and learning incredibly unhealthy nutritional habits along the way.

Calories, obesity, epidemic―these words flash through daily conversion like wildfire. The American public today is severely concerned with the nation’s growing health problem, as they should be. Recently, the nation’s school lunches have had major renovations due to the alarming increase in childhood obesity. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) has set out to fix the problems concerning nutrition in school lunches. Because the National School Lunch Program is required to follow the most current version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), school lunches are undergoing massive reform at the cost of students.

It is a monumental challenge that is worsening every year which is why we must act quickly. Children in the United States in the 1950’s were fed unhealthy school lunches of high fat, high cholesterol foods, consisting of ice cream, whole milk, mashed potatoes, and pot roast, with 1,000 calories, 33 grams of fat, 1,300 mg of sodium. Today sixty years later, school lunches throughout the nation are lacking vegetables, still loaded with carbohydrates and fats, two percent milk, canned fruits, processed meats, with 45 grams of fat, 1,200 calories, and almost twice as much sodium. Lunches that are healthier of our kids consist of

Meals at school make up a large portion of a child’s dietary intake, anywhere from one third to one half of their calorie intake happens at school according to Schanzenbach. Changes in school lunch have indeed changed over the years, but to what degree has it affected childrens health? In a study conducted by Schazenbach,

Lunch is one of the most anticipated thirty minutes of most students day. They get to converse with their friends and finish neglected homework, but what the students look forward to is the food they get to eat. In special classes(Health, Nutrition) we learn about healthy eating and dieting; unless you pack your own lunch, we must suffer and endure the unhealthy and sometimes disgusting school lunches. Schools should improve the nutritional value in our foods for many reasons; mainly for the fact that childhood obesity is a rising problem in the U.S.

School lunches provide kids with nutrition and protein for their bodies to give them energy throughout the day. Guidelines must be met for nutrition and taste when schools participate. “ Guidelines

Evaluation: (How was the target population served?): The children were very receptive the information given. All goals were met as the children were eager to talk to their parents about properly nutrition not only for breakfast but in their future as well. A readiness to enhance their daily routine by incorporating healthy breakfast options was noted. Being that healthy foods are lacking into today’s generation, this population of children seemed as though they understood the topic how to read nutrition labels, measure out serving sizes and calculate the amount of sugars in various foods.

Oliver, in his Ted Talk, discusses three major culprits for child obesity, which are fast food companies/supermarkets, food labels and schools. Oliver describes how thirty years ago, supermarkets were much more locally owned, with fresh foods, whereas nowadays supermarkets are owned by corporate america, stocking the shelves with highly processed foods, that are extremely high in sugar and fats. School breakfast and lunch is a huge staple in children’s nutrition in the United States, as this accounts for two/thirds of millions of children’s daily meals. Oliver rants that the food school’s provide is filled with a tremendous amount of additives, as well as being highly processed, with a lack of fresh vegetables and nutritious foods. (Oliver, J., 2010)