The Importance Of Federally-Funded Nutrition Programs

When children do not eat a healthy meal, their concentration and energy become more difficult to manage. The “Journal of School Health” issued a study in 2008 about the eating behaviors of approximately 5,000 school children. The research showed that children who ate more fruits and vegetables, accomplished higher grades on tests compared with children who consumed a high-fat, high-salt diet

Childhood obesity is a growing problem in America. "the percentage of obese children doubling from 6.5% in 1980, to 17.0% in 2006. Weight, nutrition, and physical activity are the main components to a child’s overall health.”(1) “When parents become too busy to cook meals in their homes, children learn poor eating habits and develop into unhealthy eaters.”(1) They will take what they learned at home and apply it to anywhere else that they eat. For example a child that drinks milk at dinner and sits with their family at dinner when asked what they want to drink when they are at a friend’s home will ask for milk because the child would associate milk with dinner. Children cannot make healthy choices of their own they need to be guided so

School lunches are not the epitome of meals in the world. Raising the level of nutritional output would highly increase the healthiness of the student’s body. For example, if a child were to drink only water at school the health benefits would help that student, just by cutting out the sugar and the calorie intake. If schools were to serve grilled chicken instead of fried chicken, the student would not have that extreme carb intake just from the fried part alone. Chicken and vegetables should be the entrée for most school lunches, of course, this does not allow for a great variety of meals, but the healthiness of the students would increase over time and could possibly be the healthiest thing they eat that day, but the only thing that they eat at all. The poverty in Mississippi is abundant, which may mean that children do not get three square meals a day, but maybe only one, which is at school. Therefore, the best way to affect student’s healthiness is by putting good, nutritious, and energizing food on the plate in front of

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

in the United States, the National School Program helps children get into a healthy eating habit.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the largest federal expenditures in North Carolina. The North Carolina General Assembly has charged the State Auditor with including but not limited to independently examining: operating and administrative procedures and practices; whether programs and activities are expending funds in a faithful, efficient, and economical manner in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; whether activities or programs are effectively serving their intent and purpose (Chapter 147 Article 5A). Therefore, the North Carolina State Auditor is requesting SNAP data in order to perform data analytics to identify unusual activity.

It is important to recognize the significance of giving these mothers the skills to keep their children healthy for a lifetime, not just meals to keep their bellies full for a day. Every

Needy children may or may not eat breakfast, which is considered the most important meal of the day. Sometimes, these children have eaten more nutritiously with oatmeal, milk, and fruit, whereas others have eaten white-flour pancakes with syrup or sugar-laden cereal with milk, water, or nothing else. Even though egg whites, whole grain breads, fruits, and low-fat milk are better choices, they may not be available to them. Many families need education about nutrition and its effects on their children and families. By lunchtime, most poor children’s bodies are depleted and in need of another energy provider, even if they had a breakfast in the first place.

Childhood obesity has expanded tremendously within the past thirty years (CDC, 2015). It is not only a state, but also a nationwide issue. For many children, they depend on their school lunches to provide them the nutritious meals they cannot afford to have at home. As a community, we need to get our children into better shape. Not only will they become more astute, but they will also live healthier lifestyles, and have less health complications as they age. When you are overweight or obese, you are much more likely to develop health problems like heart disease, diabetes, or even a stroke. It is our responsibility as a community, state, and nation to offer nutritious meals and activities for our youth and future.

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

Federally-funded school meal programs, including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP), serve an average of 31.3 million lunches and 11.1 million breakfasts per day at a cost to the country of $11.1 billion in 2011 (Food & Nutrition Services, 2012). These federally-funded meals are an excellent opportunity for regulation of nutrition as well as education regarding healthy choices. Obesity is clearly a great threat to the health of our nation, and the federal government must step in to defend its citizens against this growing threat. Children are at the mercy of their families, their social conditions, and their schools, predisposing them to obesity through poor nutritional options and a lack of education; the federal government must intervene through regulation of school meals and snacks to protect children from the abundance of unhealthy options while also educating them and reducing childhood obesity.

Though a lot of us do not think much about it, nutrition is huge part of our lives. As stated in the book, “nutrition is the study of food and nutrients we need to sustain life and reproduce” (pg. 8 Blake, Munoz & Volpe). Despite the importance of nutrition in our daily lives, many are oblivious to the nutritional value of the foods they consume. What drives us to food is “taste and enjoyment, social life and trends, nutrition knowledge, advertising, time, convenience, and cost, habits and emotions” (pg. 4 Blake, Munoz & Volpe). Out of these categories, the ones that stand out the most to me are culture, trends, and advertising due to the impact these have on one of the leading health issues in the United States; obesity.

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.

In recent years, the issue of childhood obesity has gained major attention in the United States. The percentage of obesity has risen 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 (Fox). 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 issues. According to the website, letsmove.gov, obesity in children could cause a wide range of health issues such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, high glucose levels, and more (“Health Problems and Childhood Obesity”). 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.

The goals of our group are to educate and informed school children ages 6-8 about healthy food choices at Roosevelt Elementary School. The prevalence of obesity in the United States has risen dramatically in both adults and young children. The increase in the numbers of overweight children is addressed in Healthy People 2020. Strategies designed to approach this issue include: Increase iron and calcium intake, increase fiber and whole grain intake, decrease use of sugar and sodium, increase fruit and vegetable intake, and decreased the use of solid fats.