School Cafeterias and School Vending Machines Essay

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.

School cafeterias have been notoriously known for having unhealthy, unappealing food. Students at schools are being forced to eat these foods, when parents cannot provide regular lunches for their children. These lunches usually include the following: pizza, soda, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, and others, all filled with artificial ingredients and preservatives. To address this problem, there should be a switch between the foods and drinks being served, and I have just the ideas that will be delicious and healthy. Authors Alice Waters, Katrina Heron, and Mark Bittman all agree that some initiative needs to be taken to fix this unhealthy food problem, and so do I. Together, the student body and parents will address the school board with healthier food options that are better tasting and better for the body.

According to National Heart Lung and Blood institute, in America, 1 in 6 kids are obese. Although obesity might not seem that much of a big deal, it is. Childhood obesity can lead to much worse health problems later in adulthood, such as higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, hypertension, and even cancer, among many chronic health issues all caused by obesity. Many kids get about half of their daily calories at school, and for some, school is where they get all of their daily calories. Since school plays such a big part in affecting the lives of many kids across America, special attention should be shown to nutrition. This can help kids with obesity, as well as kids that don’t have much food at home to eat and only rely on school food. For many poor kids, they don’t have a lot of healthy foods at home, because they can’t afford it. So, they rely on cheap school food for their vitamins and nutrients. Because cafeteria foods, like hamburgers or beef and cheese nachos, are highly processed and filled with unnecessary fat ,those kids that rely on school for food won’t get the nutrients and vitamins they need and will go home hungry. Since kids are growing up, it is especially important for them to get the right food they need to grow up healthy and strong, and in a place full of kids that are growing up, it is only right to provide them with good and healthy food that will allow the kids to grow up into healthy adults without obesity, malnourishment, or any kind of health

School lunches, curriculum focus, and daily activities have changed in elementary schools over the years. The nutritional value in school lunches often meet a bare minimum. Curriculum is focused strongly on idealistic future careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; but often forget teaching basic healthy habits needed for lifelong health. Physical education is no longer required every single day. Obesity has become an epidemic and not just for adults, it is increasingly affecting children as well. Children spend a generous amount of time in the classroom. They spend more time in school than at home or anywhere else. Therefore, schools have a responsibility in preventing obesity in adolescents by teaching them healthy habits, serving them nutritious food, and providing them with adequate physical activity.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “About one in three U.S. kids are overweight or obese”. This shows that unhealthy lunches can lead to obesity because the food they are getting for lunch has too many calories. So if the students eat healthy the number of students overweight will go down. If kids eat unhealthy, they are most likely obese and that can lead to health problems, including heart disease.

While the schools adhere to dietary guidelines set by the government, they still use discretion on how to serve and prepare the food to children. It is at this level that a lot of improvement stands to be made. Schools offer a lot of high-energy-dense foods, which have a lot of calories in each bite. A recent study among children showed that a high-energy-dense diet is associated with a higher risk for excess body fat during childhood. Sugar drinks are the largest source of added sugar and an important contributor of calories in the diets of children in the United States. High consumption of sugar drinks has been associated

Food and drinks located at school are healthy and state approved. If these students don’t eat our food they’ll eat greasy and fatty food sure to give them health issues. These young teens idea of food is a burger with friends and a large soda; this is sure to get the overweight.

As a result of the bad food, students do not eat in the cafeteria. They walk out of the cafeteria without eating. They can’t focus on their work because they are hungry. Students survive on snacks and junk food, which is also unhealthy.

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.

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

What is this food doing to our children? The childhood obesity epidemic has increased because of the contribution of junk food that is being served in public schools. It has been found that children who eat fatty school foods are more likely to become obese than those who brought lunch from home. Why is this we may ask has a lot to do with the above student that I stated brought their lunch from home daily. You can count the intake of calories that is in your lunchbox but you have no idea what is in the food from you school, half of the time you will not even know what the food is. Also, the specials that are provided for students on special food days increases their calorie intake as well such as; pizza day or wing day. On these days children have shown to intake more food because these are the days that they provide greasy foods that taste swell and the children like them so they will gravitate to them because they do not have the proper knowledge to know what this food can do to your body.

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.

Many people in today 's generation are constantly are craving junk food. It is patently evident junk food plays a major role in the cause of obesity. According to a study called "Psychological science", Obesity leads to numerous health issues including heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. The treatment of these health issues cost billions of tax health dollars (Physiological science, 2014). Permitting junk food in schools will cause greater chances of obesity. Students will be heading on a venture. Furthermore, obesity is a continuous major problem since the past several years. In 2010, a 4 year old girl named

Junk food, junk food, junk food is around all corners of schools. Chocolate, cookies, soda, potato chips, and Sour Strings may sound delectable to some people, but are they nutritious? Some people wonder if there should be a change. Encouraging exceptional nutrition in schools is essential by reasons of students will consume foods that are better for them, schools will pay less for meals, and fewer students would go hungry.