School Lunches Essay

One of the most controversial issues today is the question of how to address childhood obesity. Because of the large proportion of meals that children, particularly low-income children, consume in schools, cafeteria food has been targeted by dietary reformers as in need of a major overhaul. However, while many different types of new school menus have been proposed, the extent to which healthier foods can be offered remains controversial. Opponents to reform state that children will not eat healthier lunches, and that changing the food that children eat will have minimal impact, since the children will either bring food from home or eat food at home that is more 'kid friendly.'

Since 2009 Schools have been improving there healthy choices of food like fresh fruits and salad bars,but those foods take longer to eat (Hellmich). Turning school lunches into an actual sit down meal rather than a feeding frenzy is a good way of improving health (Parker-Pope). Students usually have less than 20 minutes to eat lunch which makes it less likely for them to choose the healthy choice (Elsevier). Kids often like to eat there favorite foods first,not giving them enough time to eat the healthy food (Hellmich). An increase in school lunches could encourage students to eat the healthier choice(5 Elsevier). School nutritionist suggest that students need to have atlas 20 minutes to eat (Hellmich). Research shows that when people consume meals faster they take in more calories because they get hungry sooner (Chen). The shorter lunch periods are starting to lead to more and more obese and overweight kids ( Hellmich). Doctors are saying there are more and more kids getting diabetes and other illnesses due to the lunches and something needs to be done about it

Children in America are faced with different choices every day. Some of these choices can be either good or bad for them. But these children don't really know the consequences of their actions, but the school does. Schools are serving unhealthy and un properly cooked meals to children every single day. These food companies make big money from these schools because the schools just buy the lunches so the kids will eat something. The schools don't really care what goes into the students stomachs, but as long as the school meets the requirements it's okay. Then the students just eat it because it looks and taste good, but they don't have an idea of what their eating is made out of or where it has been before. The government needs to start making school lunches more healthy for these students, if not then then unfortunately the number of obese children will rise.

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 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 when a child is well overweight for his or her age. One of the main causes are dietary patterns. According to the Center of Disease and Control Prevention, almost half of the United States middle and high schools advertise foods with high sugars, fats and salts. In addition to that, they also have a high calorie count. This makes it very difficult for students to make healthy choices. The first large school lunch project began in Boston high schools in 1894. Ever since then the government has claimed that they have been providing nutritious lunches for students. Between 1894 and 1977….. but in 1977 according to food timeline, America’s school lunches are the reflection of student’s food habits. The general accounting officer argues that, “The government subsidized school lunch served to 25 million American School Students may be harmful to their health”. This means that the unhealthy meals that are served to our students are not nutritious. He also argues that it creates sustenance for some of our children but it may lead to obesity in others due to the large portion sizes and the decrease amount of supplemental nutrients. Because America has cut spending on school lunches, they have only been able to provide a limited amount of healthy options to schools. Over time the quality of nutrition has went down and now we are at the point where we have no choice but to take action on

Did you know that in the 1990s, many school struck deals with fast food companies, including McDonald’s and Taco Bell, allowing them to sell their products in the cafeterias? In the article “Cafeteria Wars,” written by Rebecca Zissou, there are 2 perspectives on whether or not school lunches should be healthy.

School lunch within the United States has progressed to suit nutritious consumption for children in order to promote a healthy lifestyle. The National School Breakfast Program feeds 10 million children every day, and the National School Lunch Program feeds more than 30 million children daily.¹ Upwards of about 50 percent of total caloric needs are achieved at school, hence the need for nutritious and hearty meals for these growing individuals.

Many kids throughout the United States (U.S.) attending public schools are continuously being labeled as overweight. A reason for this is because schools are not providing healthy lunches. School lunches are full of saturated fats and refined sugars, which contribute to problems like obesity. Despite this connection, there are some states that are deciding to drop out of the healthier lunch programs, because the cost is too high and the districts cannot afford to participate. Healthy food leads to improvements all over ones body system. For example Vitamin K, which is found in yellow and orange fruit and vegetables or whole wheat, gives more energy than fats and sugar. Improving the healthier lunches nutrition have the potential to benefit

Students have become more restricted than ever when it comes to picking the food they want to eat in the cafeteria, most of the food is healthy and has the essential vitamins and calories a student would need. The healthy hunger free kids act was implemented in 2012 and took away the use of grease, high sodium products and more. This aimed to yes take away all the tastier foods but also to try to opt for a more balanced and healthy lunch. When a student purchases a lunch, they are encouraged to take at least one fruit or vegetable and a low-fat milk. However, most of these “required foods” end up in the trash. Most of the time it’s a hit or miss with school lunches because not all school operate the same.

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.

Aren’t you tired of getting dried out carrots and old, stale, broccoli every day at lunch? Wouldn’t you like to have more choices? Imagine if you could get delicious, hot, crispy french fries or extra cheesy Marco’s pizza. If we had more delicious options, parents would spend less time packing their lunch in lunchboxes. Parents on average spent 1,800 minutes per school year packing lunches (http://www.ofcs.net/). To avoid this, cafeterias should serve delicious fast food.

Kids/teens are getting diagnosed with diabetes every day. Some even end up obese and get bullied about it. I wouldn’t like a life like that. School lunch isn’t really helping out on that situation either. They’re feeding us things that are harming us, just so that they can make money. And it’s wrong! I think that school lunches should be healthier, and it should mean something to the people that we’re getting obese or diabetes. It is their fault we the young generation end up like this. School lunches are a hazard for us, later in our lives we’ll struggle to lose weight. And not just that but some diabetes can kill us, like type 2 diabetes. Oh and no one wants to be made fun of their whole lives, for being overweight. Then there’s the other

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.