Are School Lunches Contributing to the Childhood Obesity Problems?
Being overweight or obese is a problem for adults, but can be even worse for children.
They not only have a greater risk of health problems, but face the challenge of coping with the social stigma that accompanies this condition for the rest of their lives.
Today we refer to overweight and obese children as an epidemic.
Are school lunches partly to blame for the problem? Some experts think so.
The USDA oversees our nation's school lunch programs and congress determines the amount of money allocated for each meal but these guidelines are up form reform.
We need to make basic changes in the types of foods schools serve our children.
We also have to set maximum calorie levels and we need to offer healthier foods in our schools' vending machines.
We can change the content of school lunches by serving more fruits and vegetables.
Children who eat in the school cafeteria are more likely to have less than 2 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
Right now the government guidelines say that fruits and vegetables are interchangeable but what our kids need is servings of both at lunch.
We can also make use of ingredients with less fat, say yogurt based salad dressing and whole grain breads.
Processed foods with artificial ingredients and sugar or fructose are known to increase attention deficit and hyperactivity in some children.
Studies have shown that when schools reduced these ingredients, children behaved better and learned more.
Calorie levels were not as much of a problem when children spent time exercising.
Between computers, video games, and TV our kids get a lot less exercise than they used to and this is having a major effect on their health.
Children who eat lunch at school consume 20% to 40% more calories than their classmates who bring lunch from home.
What's even worse is that those calories are in the form of saturated fats and sugars.
Even fruits and vegetables tend to be canned rather than fresh with increase artificial ingredients, sugar and salt.
We can cut many of those calories by substituting locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables, serving low fat dairy products, and eliminating fried foods.
Vending machines also contribute to the problem of childhood obesity.
Most parents aren't aware that soft drink vendors pay commissions to schools based on sales of their products.
They rake in huge profits so they can afford to give some back to schools that allow their vending machines.
They also have powerful lobbies that influence our lawmakers to allow them to continue their practices.
What our children need is legislation that changes the type of products vendors are allowed to sell in our schools.
Solving our national epidemic of childhood obesity will not be easy but we can take small steps that have a big impact on our goal.
One such step is to improve our school lunch programs.
We need to change the content of the lunches, lower calorie levels, and restrict the type of foods offered in vending machines.
These are worthwhile goals and we owe it to our kids.
They not only have a greater risk of health problems, but face the challenge of coping with the social stigma that accompanies this condition for the rest of their lives.
Today we refer to overweight and obese children as an epidemic.
Are school lunches partly to blame for the problem? Some experts think so.
The USDA oversees our nation's school lunch programs and congress determines the amount of money allocated for each meal but these guidelines are up form reform.
We need to make basic changes in the types of foods schools serve our children.
We also have to set maximum calorie levels and we need to offer healthier foods in our schools' vending machines.
We can change the content of school lunches by serving more fruits and vegetables.
Children who eat in the school cafeteria are more likely to have less than 2 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
Right now the government guidelines say that fruits and vegetables are interchangeable but what our kids need is servings of both at lunch.
We can also make use of ingredients with less fat, say yogurt based salad dressing and whole grain breads.
Processed foods with artificial ingredients and sugar or fructose are known to increase attention deficit and hyperactivity in some children.
Studies have shown that when schools reduced these ingredients, children behaved better and learned more.
Calorie levels were not as much of a problem when children spent time exercising.
Between computers, video games, and TV our kids get a lot less exercise than they used to and this is having a major effect on their health.
Children who eat lunch at school consume 20% to 40% more calories than their classmates who bring lunch from home.
What's even worse is that those calories are in the form of saturated fats and sugars.
Even fruits and vegetables tend to be canned rather than fresh with increase artificial ingredients, sugar and salt.
We can cut many of those calories by substituting locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables, serving low fat dairy products, and eliminating fried foods.
Vending machines also contribute to the problem of childhood obesity.
Most parents aren't aware that soft drink vendors pay commissions to schools based on sales of their products.
They rake in huge profits so they can afford to give some back to schools that allow their vending machines.
They also have powerful lobbies that influence our lawmakers to allow them to continue their practices.
What our children need is legislation that changes the type of products vendors are allowed to sell in our schools.
Solving our national epidemic of childhood obesity will not be easy but we can take small steps that have a big impact on our goal.
One such step is to improve our school lunch programs.
We need to change the content of the lunches, lower calorie levels, and restrict the type of foods offered in vending machines.
These are worthwhile goals and we owe it to our kids.
