Many schools offer a la carte items in addition to the meal that is provided each day. The problem is that the National School Lunch Program does not regulate these items. If a child chooses high-calorie additions to his or her meal, his intake is going to be much higher than it should be for lunch, which over time will result in weight gain and obesity. Children who are overweight and obese due to a high-fat diet are at an increased risk of developing other health conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and high cholesterol. According to a Toronto Star survey, children who get to choose their food at lunch ate more fat and calories than those who were only offered one meal choice.
Every day in school cafeterias across the country, students are choosing healthier options. According to the revised lunch menus, instead of a breaded beef patty with ketchup, a frozen fruit ice pop, and whole milk, students can now select a chef salad with grilled chicken, low-fat mozzarella, accompanied by a whole-wheat soft pretzel and low-fat chocolate milk. These new offerings are the result of the “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010,” (HHFK) which provides $4.5 billion in new funding for the federal school lunch program. In order to receive this funding, school districts must offer menus that meet certain nutritional standards. These federally-mandated nutritional standards for school lunch menus will create a healthier generation
In today's society, obesity, more specifically child obesity has become a growing epidemic for many years not only in the U.S but all around the world. The change in the environment is not the only cause of obesity, the change in genes is also a major contributor. Obesity has many causes, but the main cause is children not getting enough exercise and eating too much. The calories that are not burning up can results into excess fat, which is stored in our bodies causing obesity. Every child gains weight different mostly due to problems like poor eating, not enough exercise, family geneses, health issues, the environment, and psychological issues.
Instead of giving all the kids the same portion of food, they made the portion smaller for the elementary students and the portion bigger for middle school and high school students. This is a major step to feeding the kids what they need in a day. Canady 2 One thing that is causing the kids not to eat their school lunches is Michelle Obama. Students are claiming that they are being given mystery meats because of her. They say ever since she has wanted healthier food in schools they started serving foods that do not look edible and gross.
Should Fast Foods Be Allowed in Schools? “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 percent of children (over 9 million) 6-19 years old are overweight or obese – a number that has tripled since 1980” (What Are Children Munching On?). Though many reasons contribute to this overwhelming fact, one is the overeating of fast food. Because of its supposed “ease” and convenience, fast food has swept the world in a sort of epidemic. 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.
Childhood Obesity Epidemic Everybody is always talking about childhood obesity in the Houston. They say we feed our children junk food, and that they get very little playing time outside, but do you know that childhood obesity happens not only in the Houston but all over the United States? Even in some other countries. The childhood obesity rate has climbed in other cities such as St. Louis, Great Britain, Washington D.C, and Philadelphia. But the main question this paper will answer is, “What causes the childhood obesity rate to rise in these different cities and how can we prevent them?” As we know the main causes to obesity is lack of exercise or poor eating habits, but in these different cities those aren’t the only reasons that childhood
Childhood Obesity Jamie Blake ENG 122 Jennifer Williams October 15 2012 Child obesity is a huge problem in the United States and a lot more citizens need to be aware and educated on the steps that can be taken to assist children struggling with obesity. How does Childhood Obesity happen, how many does it affect, what can be done to prevent this problem and what are the long terms affects. There are facts that show and lead others to believe that childhood obesity is the fault of the parents because children are watching too much Television, playing too many video games, they are not getting enough exercise, and most importantly they have an unhealthy diet. Well what is childhood obesity; it is defined as a serious medical condition
3.Suggest ways that our society as a whole could reverse or improve the statistic in a positive way for each of the statistics listed in #1. (You should list a minimum of 5 suggestions.) 1) Cut down on eating fast food 2) Get better food in school cafeteria 3) Spreading the word of obesity and how dangerous it is 4) Tell parents to feed their kids healthier foods 5) Make PE harder to make obese kids
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.
Mrs. Obama stated, "We have a right to expect the food (our kids) get at school is the same kind of food we want to serve at our own kitchen tables." Most of the children that participate in these programs eat more than half of their daily food intake at school. Offering a higher quality of food and better choices that are more nutritious improve children’s diets. (CBS, 2012) The First Lady and the USDA took charge with Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act by reducing starchy foods like potatoes and prohibiting schools from counting a small amount of tomato paste on a slice of pizza as a vegetable. Before they counted as 1 whole serving of vegetables.