Healthier school lunches will help to stop the ever-growing percentage of obese children. According to the CDC, or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is caused when more energy is consumed than energy burned. This means that the heavy, caloric lunches that are being served across the nation are too sugary and lead to obesity. Healthier school lunches also mean that purchasable sugary snacks will have to disappear to keep students as healthy as possible. Moreover, a YRBS (Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance) survey was conducted every other year since 2003. Since 2005, states such as Oklahoma, Nebraska, Delaware, and New Mexico have had a rapid increase of obese teens. Oklahoma’s teen obesity rate rose 2% between 2005 and 2015, …show more content…
Obese children have been found to have health problems, such as, “chronic health conditions and diseases that impact physical health, such as asthma, sleep apnea, bone and joint problems, type 2 diabetes, and risk factors for heart disease.” (CDC). Also, according to the CDC, obesity as a child leads to obesity as an adult. Obesity as an adult is dangerous, as it can cause, “serious conditions and diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and several types of cancer.” (CDC) What the CDC found shows us all why we should start a healthy food now before it is too late to help a child’s future. Healthier school lunches prevent child obesity, saving them from disease and ailments in the future. The AMDF, or the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, studied the effects of junk food on the eyes. They found that certain foods, including highly processed snacks, peanut butter, and french fries are dangerous for a child’s eyesight. They found that, “Overindulging in fat-filled snack foods may heighten the risk of developing advanced age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness and vision impairment in the United States for those over 55, researchers at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary said in a new study.” They present that junk food is a serious problem and can lead to AMD. One way to avoid this, according to the AMDF is by feeding children omega-3 fatty acids which are great for eyesight. Healthier school lunches not only help save a child’s future, but also help save their eyesight. Preventing students from buying these unhealthy products can help to reduce the risk of AMD in adulthood, as well as protect against many other types of illness. According to WebMD and Medi Weight Loss, obesity leads to,
Obesity can often be the consequence of living in a household that instill unhealthy eating habits. Schools can be a positive influence on teens early in life so that obese teens can lead into their adult lives with healthier habits. With these healthier habits, they may likely have more energy to become positive influences in others lives to be healthy and be able to do more. If schools can make such an impact on students’ lives, they should try, even if they needed to sacrifice extra money or instructional time. In 2007, there was a study that only one fifth of high school students had eaten fruits and vegetables at least five times a day in a week (Wexler, 2010). While it is unreasonable to force someone to eat these foods, if they are regularly offered as part of school lunches, students may eat them if they have finished the rest of their lunch and are hungry. Schools should be encouraged to even add fruits and vegetables to vending machines for healthier options.
One in three Americans kids are obese or over weight which is a staggering and alarming rate at the same time. So looking 20 years into the future that number could double if nothing is said and done about what we are eating. The public school food in school lunches are unhealthy for many alarming reasons, but not much can be done immediately due to strict guidelines and budgets that schools must follow. A lot of it goes to kids not exercising, and more time watching TV, or playing on the computer. And now days more families have less time to make nutritious home made meals. So they tend to eat School cafeteria lunches that have minimal nutrition’s and harmful calories. To prevent your kid from being over weight mean adapting what you eat, and having to exercise at least 60 minutes a day. If the changes are made to change school lunches, it can help them from being obese, children can improve their lifestyle choices, and lastly it prevents them from getting harmful diseases.
Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. (“Data & Statistics.” Childhood Obesity in America, childhoodobesityinusa.weebly.com/data--statistics.html). The reasons why the numbers are increasing are because children are eating more empty calories than ever before. Instead of healthy fruits, veggies and nutritious snacks and lunches, parents are packing and serving processed snacks that contains high fructose corn syrup. If this problem is not solved, one third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some time in their lives. (National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, letsmove.obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/learn-facts/epidemic-childhood-obesity). Childhood obesity should be prevented because it is a risk to kids' health, low self-esteem, and they can be bullied because of it.
Childhood obesity is a horrible thing to live with. “In 2012 1 in 3 American children were overweight or obese.” (pg.1) It gives your life many struggles such as self esteem. The child may be self conscious on how they look and can be affected mentally by not being happy with their life. The part of childhood obesity is the health effects. The child can develop diabetes or cardiovascular diseases or breathing problems that can potentially lead to stroke. That is all very horrible and is even worse for a child to live with. With healthy lunches the children will make better food choices that drastically and positively change their life to good health.
In the article, “Are Our School Lunches Healthy Enough,” by William Rice the article talks about the act Michelle Obama enforces. Healthy, Hunger Free Kids act is found very pointless if the food kids are served still aren’t healthy. Even though this act has been active for 15 years, and 30 million kids have become involved, this act hasn’t been useful. Kids needs are neglected and ignored in Healthy, Hunger Free Kids act.
In the recent years, the issue of childhood obesity has gained major attention in the United States especially in the 21st century. The percentage of obesity has raised tremendously within the last decade. In a recent news article, American Obesity Rates Are on the Rise, Maggie Fox states “about 28 percent of the people in America admits that they are obese.” The United States has become the country with the highest rate of obesity in the world. Besides adults who are obese, obesity is also a common issue to children and teenagers. Childhood is an important period when parents help their child avoid being obese. Eating habits during childhood can have an impact on a person as they age. Children in the U.S who are obese, will most likely develop a higher risk of having medical issue. According to the website, letsmove.gov, children who are obese, could cause to wide range of health issues such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, high glucose levels, and more. Also, children who are obese at a young age, are likely to remain obese in adulthood. The establishment of the bill, H.R. 2627 Salad Bars in Schools Expansion Act, could reduce the percentage of obese children by providing salad bars during lunch times. This exposure to healthy eating habits can help children to maintain a healthy lifestyle and to avoid future health issues.
Childhood obesity is a source of great debate in the United States. Many studies have shown the problem has become epidemic. Adults in the United States are increasing in weight and so are children and teenagers. Many factors are contributing to this growing problem. The influence parents have on their children can affect them negatively. Children of overweight parents are more likely to be overweight themselves. Another issue adding to the childhood obesity problem is the fact that children and teens have more options when it comes to food choices. School lunches, vending machines, and cheap calorie-packed snacks all contribute to this issue. Healthy foods are also more expensive and not as readily available as
About 220 billion lunches have been served since President Truman’s signing of the National School Lunch Act in 1946. However, according to the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine study, about 36% of children ages 6 to 11 are overweight and 20% are obese. The rate of obesity has risen since the 1940’s, but school lunch has made revisions to create meals to be healthier and more nutritionally dense for the child. Research has shown overweight people are only becoming more overweight and normal weight people are staying the same or developing healthier lifestyle
A healthier lunch change is happening across schools statewide. Schools have finally realized that students are not eating as healthy as they should be. Schools will began to have healthier students, better food choices, and be able to cut out unnecessary junk foods. If schools change to healthier lunches, students will begin to become healthier themselves. Students will receive better nutritional value from the change in their lunches. Although students will vote against the change in food, they slowly realize the school is doing this help them achieve better health. Also, students will receive better energy and bodily functions from new and improved lunches. Students will gain increased vitamins and minerals from the which they were not currently receiving Healthier lunches will bring better food choices to students. It will replace normal, unhealthy foods with more nutritious, healthier
Kids will live longer because they will not become obese and they will be more active. Kids will also live longer because they will not have diseases and health problems when they are older (Maslow, O’Hara, 2015). “Obesity is the most common health problem associated with an unbalanced diet. Cardiovascular problems are some of the more serious health complications of an unbalanced diet. Another potential risk of an unbalanced diet is type 2 diabetes, particularly when this diet leads to an excessive amount of weight gain” (Severson, 2015, para. 2, 3, and 4). Eating healthy food prevents body fat and keeps skin, nails and hair healthy. Outfits will fit better and the lack of sugary foods keeps teeth white and attractive. People tend to react more positively to other people that look healthy (Benjamin, 2015). In order to meet the nutrient requirements crucial for good health, kids need to eat a variation of each of the five food groups daily, in the recommended amounts. It is important to enjoy a mixture of foods within the five food groups because different foods vary in the amount of the nutrients that these foods provide (Cox, 2015). Kids need at least 60 minutes of moderate to strong physical activity each day. Schools can assist the prevention of obesity by recommending higher quality and more active physical education for kids (“School Obesity Prevention,” 2016). Healthy selections,
The food that is served at schools has too much fat. You don’t want to be fat do you? People bully others that are fat. This is why we need healthy lunch! If we don’t start getting healthy lunches, we are going to have to start packing our lunches. School lunch contains fat vitamins.
If students ate healthier school lunches, it would result in healthier food choices at home. Children who are provided with sugary, fatty foods at school can develop poor eating habits at home. School lunches that provide more calories than a child needs to maintain their body weight can lead to weight gain and obesity. Overeating can not only compromise the child's health, but lead to health problems in the future. Children who are overweight have increased risks of developing health problems and become obese adults. Healthy lunches with appropriate portions can help support a healthy
Nationally, about 17% of people under the age of 20, about 12.5 million are considered obese. School districts that serve students food that are high in calories and fat are to blame for the growing numbers of obese children. Although school lunches provide students food at minimal costs, the poor quality of food served delivers inadequate nutrition and is responsible for the rising numbers of obese minors in the United States. In order to combat this growing problem, school districts must limit student choices in the lunchroom and provide healthier food nationally. Although some school districts may argue this, it is necessary to do so as school districts in Pennsylvania and Mississippi and university studies support this claim.
Even though healthy school lunches sometimes get expensive, I think students need to eat healthier so they don’t become obese. I think school lunches need to be healthier for elementary, middle, and high school students.
The fast-paced lifestyle of Americans today results in unhealthy frozen T.V. dinners and take-out meals. In present day society, the role of woman and men are virtually equal. With this making both the mother and father of families busy, there is little time for home cooked meals. A hardy breakfast is replaced with sugary pop-tarts, hand packed lunches is replaced with money for fast food, and frozen T.V. trays take the place of a healthy dinner. These foods may all taste good, but they are not healthy. By giving children lunch money, the children are having the choice to buy whatever foods they please. It could be easily assumed that a child would choose a candy bar, chips, and a soda over a school lunch. Again, the children are not the only ones to be blamed here. The parents need to take time to guide their children towards what food is healthy and what food is unhealthy. By taking a little more time out of the day and making healthier food choices, the rate of childhood obesity could slow down, if not stop altogether.