Nutrition in public schools

Nutrition and School Lunches

School lunches are really a hot topic for me.  The more I learn about the lack of variety for nutritional lunches and the great variety of unhealthy choices of pizza and burgers; I cannot help but question why people wonder how the obesity rate is climbing. We all know the relationship between obesity and other diseases (eg diabetes), but there is an institutional means to change student lunches and access to unhealthy foods. The lack of physical education and resource are certainly contributing. At the bottom of my blog, you can find several resources to read on your own. Here are my main points about school lunch and PE policies:

1.       Having access to a healthy and well-balanced diet is an economic issue. Basically, it is expensive to buy fresh fruit, vegetables and other produce at a reasonable price. If a family is struggling to afford necessities, it is not economically feasible to buy health food. Secondly, if the students are on free or reduced lunches, there are little options for healthy foods for students. We also have to remember that families receiving assistance often do not get to pick the food given to them. As a result, it is a class issue to access healthy food. Healthy food can be very expensive, especially for struggling families. (http://www.azpha.org/pdf/Poverty_Obesity.pdf)

2.       The schools do a horrible job in encouraging positive nutrition habits when they provide pizza and burgers every day. Not only is the quality of meat horrible (see the CNN report), but there is absolutely no nutritional value. Offering unhealthy food is encouraging poor eating habits. Youth are often not old enough to learn how to moderate their diets and need modeling from adults.  I know several people will object and claim that students won’t eat healthy food, but this is a creativity problem. Even for picky eaters there are healthier options than pizza. It is more about the preparation and quality of food. I realize most students won’t eat a salad, but how about low-fat milk instead of sugary sodas? Even chocolate milk is better than coke. Or how about peeling potatoes instead of instant boxed potatoes? Healthy soups or serving more fruit?

3.       Vending machines need to be eradicated until they serve healthier options. I know that often these provide monetary incentives for schools, but it comes at a high nutritional cost. Many of them provide chips, cookies and all sorts of sugary and overly salty treats for students. Why can’t they carry healthier items? Like string cheese, pretzels, apples, and granola bars. Also, we need to change the beverage selection to more water, fresh juice, and low fat milk. (see link below for more information)

4.       Teaching students in about healthy substitutions and how to balance diet and exercise is crucial and needs to be intergraded into education. I’m not about to absolutely ban all “no nutrition” food, but a compromise with a “Friday Only” option for pizza and burgers still provides students with choices, without allowing students to eat only fatty food at school. (see the policy link below)

5.       PE has to be given a higher priority. Physical exercise is important and not all students have access outside of school to safe and age accommodating activities. Playing sports in and out of school can be costly. Students living in dangerous areas don’t feel safe enough to go outside and play. Families with limited financial resources also might not have the means to pay for after school recreation, or the time to take them. PE has benefits. Students can’t sit for hours without becoming restless. Everything needs to be balanced.

6.       Bring back recess to elementary students. Playing is not just crucial for exercise, it also helps build social skills and allow for creativity.

Overall, our kids are becoming obese. While there is parental responsibility involved, institutional factors play a significant contribution to modeling nutritional behavior and providing healthy food for low-income students. It is also crucial to remember that there is a relationship (at least that I will argue) between socio-economics and income, and the ability to access nutrition.

http://www.ecoliteracy.org/programs/pdf/rethinking_policy.pdf  (an excellent policy piece that provides insightful information about public school lunches)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-06-10-student-lunches_N.htm  (provides an interactive map about states and student lunches)

http://us.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2009/12/09/nr.grading.school.meat.cnn (explores the quality of meat that schools provide)

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/WeightoftheNation/  (information for the CDC regarding youth and obesity)

http://www.commercialalert.org/obesity.pdf Quick blurb on the relationship between commercialism and childhood obesity

Worhty,R. “The impact of poverty on nutrition and health)                          http://www.azpha.org/pdf/Poverty_Obesity.pdf