Healthy Schools Are Better Schools

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Savannah Robinson Dr. Carrie Cook HEATHY SCHOOLS ARE BETTER SCHOOLS Over the past four decades, childhood obesity rates in America have quadrupled. Today, almost one in every three children in our nation is obese or overweight (Pettijohn 1). If we do not solve this problem, one third of all children born today will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives. Many others may experience health problems associated with chronic obesity, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma (Cline, Spradlin, and Plucker 4). Fortunately, the solution to this national epidemic is within reach. Parents, grandparents, educators and caring people everywhere can all play a part in instilling in kids the lifelong habits they need for health and academic success. I believe public schools should take a better initiative to increase health in schools because it is best to instill good habits at a young age, schools are an ideal environment to improve health of children (our future adults), and they can play an active role in fighting obesity. Everyone has a role to play. Your involvement as caregivers and adults is key to ensuring a healthy future for our children. Considering children spend 8 hours of their day at school, it is an ideal environment to improve their health. Also, instilling healthy routinely practices for nutrition and physical activity are best to do at a young age. According to “Action for Healthy Kids”, they believe that all children should be healthy and ready to learn. Sadly, they are not. Providing children with nutritious foods is important to support their health, growth and development, while poor nutrition contributes to unhealthy weights in both children and adults. Because children's dietary habits are largely formed before the age of five, it is so important to support the development of healthy physical and eating habits early.
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