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Benefits Of Healthy Nutritional Habits

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Healthy nutritional habits are emphasized in all educational atmospheres throughout the country, but, ironically, they are highly ignored when developing school meals. It is no secret that American children are offered the wrong variety of nutrients, including sugars, carbohydrates, and fats. This is especially alarming, due to the fact, that in a survey conducted in 2012, nearly 21 million adolescents stated that they were dependent on school lunches as their main meal of the day (Perle). Therefore, it is estimated that the average student is receiving sixty five percent of their everyday calorie intake within school. Actually, many schools also offer breakfast along with lunch. To put it in perspective, if an elementary student eats all …show more content…

In 2009, a study was conducted on the average nutritional value schools served in their lunches. It resulted, that nationwide 80% of students are given more than the recommended amount of saturated fats (Suddath). These numbers are absolutely absurd, there is no reason for students to be consuming so many fats, except that these meals are cheap and are easy to supply within the funding and budget schools are provided for their meals. This is why, the five worst school lunches in the country are also the five most popular; they provide adequate amounts of protein, and extreme amounts of fats, but insufficient amount of fiber and other necessary nutrients. Pepperoni pizza, quesadillas, cheeseburgers, meatloaf, and nachos all can include up to 25 grams of fat and 1,500 grams of sodium (The Top Five). Meals such as the ones listed above only result in poor nutrition and health. Also, not to mention the fact, that the USDA states that the average school lunch exceeds the suggested 500 milligrams of sodium; in fact, certain regions serve meals with over 1,000 milligrams of sodium (Perle). Excessive levels of sodium are extremely dangerous for students susceptible to heart conditions, which is why it is imperative that meals are thoroughly regulated. In most meals containing meat across the nation, there is an outrageous of chemicals due to processing for freshness and coloring preservation. It has

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