Carlicia Taylor Leroy Tate ASC-45 30 October 2012 School Lunches Research Question: Why School lunches are becoming healthier in schools? To begin my research on school lunches, I’ve found out a lot of things that are being improved in lunches and some things that are still an issue. On a recent article I found online written by the New York Times called, “No Appetite for Good-for-You School Lunches” it talks about a suburban high school in Pittsburg of students complaining about their lunches how it’s expensive and especially how they’re not getting enough to eat because of the lunch size portions are being reduce to more healthier lunches. But an act was passed called The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which required public schools to follow new
First Generation Students On February 2nd, 2009, I attended a seminar given by Stephen Jenkins, PhD, LP about “ Finging Success for First generation Students.” The name is almost self explanatory. First generation students are students whose parents did not attend college, parents who have a high school diploma or less. Although I am not a first generation student, it was really interesting learning all about the pro’s and con’s of being a first generation student. Approximately 30% of students in public 4 year colleges, like SCSU, are first generation students. Seventy five percent of these students are white female.
students eat school lunches, only 6 percent of school lunch programs meet the requirements established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For example, the average sodium content was twice that recommended, and 80 percent of schools exceeded rules to keep fat to less than 30 percent of total calories. Studies have also shown that most of these selections are processed foods, high in fat and sugar. The findings of the American College of Cardiology by researchers at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, found that more than one in three middle school students who regularly eat school lunches are obese or overweight because of there high fat and sugar content. The findings also show that students who consume school lunches are more likely to have high LDL "bad'' cholesterol levels than kids who bring lunch from home.
THE PROBLEM In the past decade, school provided lunches have been a serious reason for unhealthy eating habits of children. School Lunches contain about the same amount of fat as a happy meal at McDonalds. Along with the extremely high fat and calorie content of school provided lunches there is not enough of the daily recommended fruits and vegetables. The American Dietetic Association reports that only ten to twenty percent of American children meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation of consuming at least five fruits and vegetables per day; and children eat 1/3 of their meals at school.
The easy way out to being healthy and eating right for ones body, fast food has plagued the nation especially with diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and even strokes or heart attacks. A question is now posed of whether or not fast foods should be fed to children, in substitute of their regular lunches at school. These kids are what seem like innocent victims because of their naivety towards the real problems with fast food. The problems with this quick fix in school cafeterias are that students would become obese, they would develop bad habits, and that the school would be advertising for these companies. “More than 70 percent of obese adolescents retain their overweight and obese condition even during their adulthood” (What Are Children Munching On?).
He said, “If students could only get their hands on some caffeine, then maybe they would be able to stay awake in those class hours that are so early in the morning. All they would need to do is put $1.25 into the machine and then select their choice of pop and voila…their ready for the day!” The gods and goddesses thought this idea over for a few minuets and decided that this could possibly work. Within a week pop machines were placed in every school across the world. Students and
Food Consumption Among American Teenagers American teenagers eat many different types of food. Some teenagers today are starting to pay attention to health warnings about what they put into their bodies. Those that do not will greatly impede how healthy they are later in their lives. There are so many food choices that can be made throughout each day. Lack of time due to homework, sports participation, and social lives can hurt healthful eating.
By high school only a third take gym class daily, according to the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. And it's not like most kids are making up for lost gym classes by working out on their own time. More than 60 percent of children aged 9 to 13 do not participate in any organized physical activity during their non-school hours and 23 percent do not engage in any free-time physical activity at all (Huberty, 2012). The phasing out of physical education comes at a time when doctors are warning educators and parents about the dangers of child obesity and other health issues. Meanwhile, researchers are beginning to provide the relationship between fitness and excelling in school.
According to the American Heart Association (2006), seven percent of preschool age children in 1994 were overweight. The most recent report done in 2002, says that now 10 percent of preschool age children have weight problems. Alan Greene, MD, FAAP (2006), a WebMD expert, said the following: It’s more than a million overweight kids before they start elementary school. And the number swells to 4 million during the elementary school years. Our kids deserve to be taught to truly enjoy eating healthy amounts of healthful foods, and to enjoy, to revel in, active play – preferably before the bad habits even start.
Then I began my journey into learning. Math, science, and language always took place in the morning periods, which I think was good idea since the brain functions better at the beginning of the day. Each class was forty-five minutes long interrupted by a ten minutes activity because as a little kid after twenty minutes of lecture the brain needs a break. I also had a ten minutes break to prepare for the next class. Around eleven, we usually took twenty-five minutes lunch break and if you are lucky enough and you live very close to the school you can go home and get your lunch.