Healthy Lunches Improve Student Test Scores

What is does every kid look forward to during their school day? Lunch and recess. What kids eat at lunch reflects on the rest of their day. That includes energy levels, academic performance, and how much they engage. Meaning a poor lunch that is high in fats and lacking nutrition results in a sluggish child and some claim is a factor of the childhood obesity epidemic. School lunches should be reevaluated to provide students with a nutrient balance diet to help supply children with healthy brain functions to increase productivity in school, promotes beneficial future eating habits which can prevent further obesity issues in children, and it promotes an increase of attendance. To change what the schools here in the United States serve children food we have to take a deeper look into who is in charge, analyze the current standards and policies, and compare it to what a proper diet should be for children.

As adults, they are also at an increased risk for coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) compared with those not overweight as adolescents.” It is important to help reduce the growing trend of obesity in children and young adults, as it has been documented in recent studies that children who are overweight tend to carry this problem with them into adulthood. Revitalizing the school lunch program would be an incremental place for the government to start revamping the obesity problems that they have caused in children. David Satcher stated in HEALTHY and Ready to Learn that, “Well-nourished students tend to be better students, whereas poorly nourished students tend to demonstrate weaker academic performance and score lower on standardized achievement tests. The majority of U.S. children are not eating a balanced, nutrient-rich diet. Inadequate consumption of key food groups deprives children of essential vitamins, minerals, fats, and proteins necessary for optimum cognitive function (Tufts University School of Nutrition, 1995). Children who suffer from poor nutrition during the brains most formative years score much lower on tests of vocabulary, reading comprehension, arithmetic, and general knowledge (Brown & Pollitt, 1996). In a 1989 study, 4th graders with the lowest amount

Schools take control of students every move from the amount of homework they get to

The author’s intention is to inform the reader that the healthy lunch programs are failing. The author provides plentiful information and research on the failing school lunch programs in the U.S. “In the war to get America’s children to eat healthier, things are not going well.” Kids are not eating their vegetables. This has become a big problem in America and steps need to be taken to stop unhealthy eating. Like The Agriculture Department mandating that students in the federal lunch program choose a fruit or vegetable with their meals. This solution didn’t work and actually worsened the problem. “Their consumption of fruits and vegetables actually went down 13 percent after the mandate took effect.”

In the article, “Are Our School Lunches Healthy Enough?” the author, William Rice, states how healthy school lunches are superb and should be accepted by all Americans. William Rice specifically writes about how too many American children are affected by obesity, and how students, as well as parents, should be educated on this matter. Throughout this essay you will learn the PROs of healthy and should be convinced to be on the PRO side.

It also presents an opportunity to marshal public support behind efforts to address it. A recent survey commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health found that 73 percent of respondents, representing a broad geographical and political spectrum, agreed that preventing childhood obesity is an important priority for government. A majority (56 percent) said that investing in a comprehensive program to combat childhood obesity is worth it, even if it would increase government spending by billions of dollars a year during a difficult economic time. IT’S AN ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE ISSUE A growing body of research connects better nutrition with higher achievement on standardized tests; increased cognitive function, attention, and memory; and an array of positive behavioral indicators, including better school attendance and cooperation. Hungry teens are more likely to be suspended from school, experience difficulty getting along with other children, and have no friends. Undernourished children are more likely to repeat a grade and require more special education and mental health

The student’s spending in school can sometimes be very strict and money doesn’t come very easily, and the temptation of the junk food at schools isn’t helping. Reporters from TIME state that although 1% of schools are dropping out of the National School Lunch program, kids aren’t buying the healthier options, which is the main cause of the school’s decision to drop out of the program. Although this affects the school in negative ways, it reduces the overall money spent by the student. Alexandra Sifferlin also states that after the program had gone into effect, the participation of buying healthy foods drop from 5% to 3% by the end of the year. It’s an important decision to make that decides the importance of student’s decision-making between

I see poor nutrition and low birth weight affecting students in my classroom more and more. There are many programs within districts to try to help offset the problem of poor nutrition. Our school has voted to implement breakfast in the classroom this fall. This program will allow every student in my class to have access to free breakfast every day. I used to keep extra food on hand in my classroom for students who would inevitably complain about not having had breakfast. A study on the breakfast program found that “There is significant evidence of positive academic effects due to breakfast consumption” (Benefits, 2010). This program is one way that we can help our students to have the nourishment they need to be able to learn and

The current state of affairs isn’t ideal for school children as many schools offer children foods of minimal nutritional value with some schools still allowing fast food restaurants to provide their services in high schools and middle schools. The current policies actually contribute to the toxic environment that many children face both at home and at school as those most impacted by the obesity epidemic are minority and poor urban children who don’t have healthy choices at home or in school. Part of the problem

Healthy school lunches are important for kids for many reasons. Focusing on school lunches is important because it affects the health, lifestyle, and education of kids. Healthy school lunches are a good way to get kids the nutrients they need in order to help them grow and succeed. Healthier school lunches will also help kids get through their day. School lunches that are healthier are good for kids and good for the brain because kids will be able to think and focus in school. If kids eat healthy school lunches, then they will not have health problems, as they get older.

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,

Of all of the problems that dishearten children today, the one that bothers them the most is being unhealthy. Five out of six students from the Manalapan Englishtown Middle School agree that there should be a change in the schools' cafeteria foods; they came up with a solution to help kids be healthy. Unhealthy foods should be eliminated in schools for many reasons. First of all, kids concentrate better when they are healthy. Being healthy helps children to concentrate better because if they are healthy in the inside and the outside, they will not have to worry about their health or how they look. Secondly, having only healthy foods in school help parents to take good care of their kids. For instance, imagine a mom that is a seventh

For the past decade or so the American School Lunch programs have been scrutinized for their poor nutrition and high calorie contents. In all, a lot of people have given their input to the problem in the form of essays. Lisa Belkin, wrote her article "The School-Lunch Test" in 2006, which confronted the current school lunch programs of that year and the attempts to make them better for children (Belkin). Years later, in 2012, Michelle Obama produced the article "Food Bill We Need" which confronted the same problem Lisa Belkin went up against, except Michelle was advocating a newly proposed bill (Obama). Lastly, Von Diaz a year later in 2013, wrote "What Ever Happened to Michelle Obama's School Lunch Program?" (Diaz). All of these pieces focus

I want to start eating healthier this year because i want to be as healthy as can be. I do worry my health and I am now being cautious over what I eat. I do NOT want the risk of any health condition such as diabetes, heart failure, cholesterol, etc. Another reason why I want to start eating healthier is because I have been gaining weight again, now that the soccer season is over. To achieve this goal, I will choose the healthier lunches at school, like a salad. At home I can eat lots of fruit and vegetables. I can also limit the amount the food I eat. I will avoid any junk food and anything with lots of sugar like candy, soda, cookies, etc. The time I eat is also important, which will be no later than 8

In my opinion school lunch wouldn't be that bad if the healthy hunger free kids act didn't make sure that school lunches are healthier. Greasy pizza, salty French fries and sauces up chicken wings are not healthy and that meals at school should be lower in fat, calories and sodium and contain lean proteins, more fruits and vegetables. But school lunches shouldn't be mostly whole grains because personally I don't like whole grain foods and since my school started serving almost everything whole grain, I rarely eat lunch because kids don't like whole grain or wheat bread. If my school and other schools should start serving white wheat bread, because white wheat doesn't taste like wheat bread, it tastes like regular white bread l, and if schools