Why Should Nutritious Drinks Be Allowed In Schools

There is a dramatic increase in the number of children who are being affected by diabetes and obesity in America. Sugary drinks and unhealthy snacks should be taken out of the vending machines in schools and replaced with healthier choices to help stop this trend. Some may argue that taking out the options it is taking away a student’s right to choose what they will and will not eat. However, by taking out the sugary drinks healthy habits are encouraged, future diseases are avoided, and a healthier generation is brought up.

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.

Many schools nowadays turn off their vending machines during the school day to prevent students from eating fattening foods. In California and Hawaii, state legislators are very close to passing a law that would ban any drinks excluding milk, water or juice from being sold in elementary schools, and reduce the hours older students can use the vending machines. Michelle Obama and the Obama Administration have asked Congress to improve children's nutrition by getting rid of school vending machines that provide students with sugary snacks and drinks. The problem with this is school’s are making an extravagant amount of money off feeding their students with artificial flavoring and

Caffeine is a psychoactive drug and potentially deadly in large amounts, especially for adolescents (Hershorin, Lipschulz, Schaechter & Seifert, 2011). Caffeine is one the most common energy drink ingredients and one of the most widely consumed substances in the world. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), caffeine is a chemical stimulant compound found in various plants that acts as a central nervous system stimulant. Caffeine is produced naturally and artificially. Caffeine is found mainly in coffee, tea, soda, chocolate, energy drinks and some over-the-counter medications. Due to the increasing demands placed on teenagers today, caffeine is becoming more prevalent in adolescents. While the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children have no more than 100 mg of caffeine a day due to unknown medical conditions, the fact a teenager’s brain is still in a developmental stage, and the importance sleep plays in the developing brain. Table 1, shows the amount of caffeine for the energy drinks in this report. (Note-this does not include the caffeine from blend ingredients)

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

Schools have changed all drinks to all nutritious drinks. I agree that the schools should have the nutrition stuff because it helps there one. Obesity has taken over the world because all of the unhealthy things in the world. All the sodas and energy drinks are a main drinks for everyone and they are bad for you. Many types of milk to choose from too.

students take to get an assignment done or to study for finals. Caffeine can cause sleep loss when

don’t have soda? Some people do not think that schools should sell any drinks but milk, water, and

The first reason that I think that there should be soda machines and vending machines available to student at GMS is because sometimes kids want other things to drink other than having to drink milk and juice and water everyday for lunch and breakfast. Drinking the same thing everyday gets tiring. Some things that we have for lunch in the cafeteria are not good with milk.

Allowing access during school hours to the “wrong” choice in beverage can lead to a lifetime of repercussions. (Hellmich, USA Today,

Symptoms that follow caffeine consumption are: anxiety, panic attacks, increased heart palpitations, trembling, stress, heartburn, and the deprivation of sleep (Driedger, Doyle par 2). Over time these symptoms can become more severe and eventually will become a major disturbance in one’s life. The anxiety that comes from this can be especially harmful to those who suffer from anxiety disorders, such as GAD-General Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder as the caffeine can stimulate a panic attack (Human par 3). The most apparent concern of caffeine consumption, is its effects on teen life. Dr. Jim Lane, a researcher at Duke University stated, “Teens are chronically sleep deprived. Caffeine use might be a consequence of that, and also a cause. Drinking coffee could lead to sleep-onset insomnia, or a delay in going to bed, that contributes to sleep deprivation” (Teens par 7). This shows that as the caffeine trend among teens continue, the link to teen sleep deprivation strengthens. Not only does it prevent the continuation of sleep, but also the process of even falling asleep is delayed. The more deprived of sleep these

I agree it doent make since to take away soft drinks but keep fast food resturants. It doesnt make sense to take it out of school but it still be surved at home. I feel that is something that parents should want to change first.If parents aloow their kids to drink soft drinks I dont understand why school should have a say

Have you ever tasted school cafeteria food? I don’t think you would want to. In school story books, do you have characters saying that the food tasted good at school cafeterias? Nope. Why is this? Cafeteria food is often cheap, bought in bulk, high in calories, malnutritious, and microwaved. Student polls and opinions prove this. Therefore, this leads to a suggestion: Healthier, tastier foods and a better, advanced lunch system should be implemented.

Some people think that schools should offer only nutritious drinks such as white milk, water, and natural fruit juice. I strongly agree with this statement because I think we should have water, white milk, and fruit juice. Here are some reasons we should have nutritious drinks. First, childhood obesity is a huge problem. Second, too much caffeine is not nutritious for me. Finally, milk makes my bones stronger. It will be horrible if we did not have anything to drink, and we would thirst to death.

If sugary drinks are banned from schools, then the banning of food and drinks would escalate further. First, Coca-Cola would be banned so students would have to drink Coca-Cola Zero. Next, Coca-Cola Zero would be banned and they would have to resort to a beverage such as milk. Then eventually, that would lead to sugary foods also getting