Children 's Consumption At Primary Schools

Do you let your children eat school lunches? Your answer may depend on your income level, time in the morning for lunch preparation, or your concern for your child’s health. Schools should continue in improving the nutrition of school lunches; however, physical education should also be mandatory from Kindergarten until senior year. Recommended levels of physical activity counts as increasing heart rate to breathe hard for some time of a total of sixty minutes per day, for at least five days a week (Wexler, 2010). Most schools focus on providing low calorie lunches, and although it is a fine goal in reducing childhood obesity, schools should also provide a variety of

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.

Childhood obesity is a serious health issue currently affecting America’s population. School lunches have gained a spotlight in the search for prevention of child obesity because the majority of America’s youth eat two school meals a day during most of the year. Although the nutritional standards of school meals have been changed over the years, there is still room for improvement. With additions such as a la cart and vending machines, school meals quickly fall from the federal nutrition standards. As children grow they spend an average of 7 hours a day at school over half of the year. With almost 95% of America’s children attending school, it is one of the most stable and influential aspects of their life. With so much of a child’s time spent

To touch on poor nutrition, research shows that almost one-third of U.S. children between the ages of four and nineteen eat fast food every day; this results in weight gain of approximately 6 extra pounds on a growing child each year (NACHRI, 2007). Fast food consumption has increased fivefold among children since 1970. Not only is fast food an issue, but when parents reward their children with sugary foods and/or use fruits and vegetables as a punishment, this may cause children’s views toward nutritious food to be negative. Some great educational tools that can be shared both in and out of the classroom are “The Food Guide Pyramid” and “My Plate.” Both show that appropriate number of serving of each food category. “My Plate” does a great job of even providing games, activity sheets, kid-friendly recipes, and physical activity tips to elementary aged children (My Plate, 2015). They also provide great resources for adults so parents and educators can practice what they preach and set good examples for children. Educating children on an what a healthy diet consists of and why it is important is probably the greatest preventative tool we can use to prevent obesity. As the famous saying goes, “knowledge is

Currently, school lunches must meet the applicable recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. According to these recommendations and based on individual meals, no more than 30 percent of calories can come from fat, and less than 10 percent from saturated fat. Regulations also establish a standard for school lunches to provide one‐third of the Recommended Dietary Allowances of protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calories (National School Lunch Program, 2011). School lunches must meet Federal nutrition requirements, but decisions about what specific foods to serve and how they are prepared are made by local school food authorities.

During an average school day, most schools will provide a lunch for their students. After concern that school lunches were helping contribute to the obesity epidemic, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) began to regulate school lunches. “The Obama administration’s new Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, signed into law last December, sets aside $4.5 billion over 10 years to fund school lunches and child nutrition programs; it requires school lunch programs to double the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables in each meal, reduce calories and expand access to drinking water during meal time. With 31 million children receiving school lunches and 20% of all U.S. children suffering from obesity, the measure should help to improve the food

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.

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

Childhood obesity has gained a lot of attention in the recent years especially the 21st century. It is a disease that has beset the lives of so many people around the world for decades. It is considered the most essential health concerns today. The focus of obesity has been shifted to concentrate on the obesity in children. Childhood obesity is on the rise at an alarming rate, especially in poverty stricken communities. Schools, parents and children themselves are all being held responsible for this heart wrenching disease. Food choices are high on the list of reasons for childhood obesity among children. According to the Center for Disease control and Prevention, (2016), the prevalence of obesity has remained is

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.

Diet aggressively plays a role in the rise of obesity within children. Now although diet is a much harder predictor to use across a socioeconomic population, it is not hard to find that more childrens diets are filled with unbalanced meals, less caloric dense foods, and more foods high in fat as the tradition of at home meals has declined moving more towards fast foods and foods high of sodium. In a study done on child obesity by Cara B Ebbeling, Dorota B Pawlak, David S Ludwig it is found that, “In the late 1970s, children in the

In scientific research, it was discovered that children who eat school lunch have a heightened chance of developing obesity. To add more, only 6% of schools monitor the USDA guidelines for school lunches. This results in many schools essentially having unhealthy school lunches that could enlarge the chances for obesity. As a student, this prominently shocks me due to the fact the food that I consume practically every day could affect my health. Although the percentage amongst chances of obesity by school lunch and without school lunches are low, it still could affect us in the future and may lead to a disease,” Recent data shows that while an estimated 30.6 million US students eat school lunches, only 6% of school lunch programs meet the nutritional requirements established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

For this research, I, would like to address the issue of childhood obesity related to school nutrition. I believe that one of the major cause of obesity is food selection that schools provide to the children. This is a nationwide problem and it need to be addressed because it has a vast impact on the children’s nutritional health. It important to me because I have an eleven-year-old myself and as a parent I can see that schools don’t offer quality nutrition meals. This will not only impact children today but provide a healthy stage for generations to come.

How do unhealthy school lunch choices compare to other obesity risk factors, such as after school

Based on the participant ‘s developmental level, the researchers will ask 24 hour dilatory diary. Parents of the participants may help recalling the food items from the day before.