School Lunches Essay
In recent years, school cafeterias across America have started a new lunch trend that has sparked quite a debate. With so many complaints about the poor quality food that schools have been serving students, bringing in popular fast food restaurants to replace traditional lunches seems to be the quick solution. This new trend is not only a dull attempt to solve an issue, but it also creates other problems for school age children, as well as the entire nation. Fast food restaurants may be more popular among students, which is financially appealing to school staff, but it also creates bad eating habits that can carry on into adulthood. Not to mention, eating in such an unhealthy way can also cause excessive weight gain and poor nutrition, but
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there’s no stopping there. It is no big secret that excessive weight can lead to obesity, and obesity will likely lead to other issues in both adults and children. Needless to say, allowing fast food to be a part of children’s every day lunches is not only a threat to their health, but it will eventually lead to other problems in adulthood. Ignoring any common sense to promote a healthy lifestyle, cafeterias are serving fast food items in school every day and are creating bad eating habits in America’s children. It is without a doubt that fast food restaurants can create some delicious meals, which are quite appealing, but it is the parent’s and school staff’s obligation to teach children to make the right choice between a healthy meal and one with poor nutritional value. If these fast-food restaurants are serving their entrees, then kids are getting a diet low in fiber, whole grains, and milk (Bowman, 2004), and are most likely not getting any fruits or vegetables. Most children spend between six and eight hours a day in school, which is equal to a full-time job. Among the low-income population, kids get over 50% of their daily nutrition at school (Hollar, 1). This is such a great opportunity to nourish children’s health and create a high standard for good food considering they have no other option but to eat the foods that are available at school. Some might argue that kids simply won’t eat if there aren’t choices like fast food. However, in recent studies, it was found that replacing popular dishes like chicken nuggets, pasta, and patties with similar soy products had no effect on the number of school lunches consumed (Lazor, 1). Kids ate just as many soy entrees as they did other popular dishes, which prove that bringing in fast food restaurants is a weak solution. It is common sense to almost every American that consuming fast food on a regular basis causes excessive weight gain. This is because of a number of reasons. First, most fast foods are served in large portion sizes for a cheap price, which may be the most appealing thing about these foods. However, they also contain “high-energy density, that is high-energy content/food-weight ratio” according to the International Journal of Obesity (Stender, Dyerberg, and Astrup, 2). That means lots of calories packed into one hamburger, slice of pizza, or chicken nugget meal, and kids don’t know how to recognize the dangers of all of this. All they see is a yummy meal and think about how cool it is that they get to eat this junk every day. What kids don’t see is that these foods are also packed with trans fats, which can lead to high cholesterol, inflammation, diabetes mellitus, and coronary heart disease (Bauer, Waldrop, 2). Even if these dangers were posted right next to meal itself, most kids wouldn’t even give it a second thought because young minds in combination with hungry stomachs aren’t equipped to make that kind of decision. It should be up to the adults to put healthy, good quality meals in front of kids at school, not processed fast foods packed with preservatives, calories, and trans fats. Only one thing can result from all this unhealthy eating, creating bad habits, and excessive weight gain, and that is an obese population.
It goes without saying that many Americans struggle with excessive weight, most of which can be addressed early on in life. According to the Centers for Disease Control website, more than one third of adults in the U.S. were obese in 2010 (CDC.gov), which shows that obesity is one of the biggest healthcare problems the U.S. faces today. It creates a growth in healthcare costs because it causes so many other problems in individuals, most of which are life threatening. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website also states that obesity can lead to diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, cancer, high cholesterol, stroke, and respiratory problems (CDC.gov). At any age, being overweight or obese can also cause emotional problems as well, like low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. Imagine what these issues can do to a young child or even a teenager going through puberty. There is already enough pressure in the world to be thin, beautiful, and practically perfect. Adding all these physical and emotional problems only creates bigger issues that many parents or teachers don’t want to see in young children. Some might argue that it is an inherited gene so there’s no way of avoiding it. While genetics may be a predisposing factor, one shouldn’t let that determine their
fate.
It all starts in childhood, and if there is zero effort being made there, then Americans are being set up for bigger problems in the future. No one wants a child to be overweight with bad eating habits, so there is no reason to encourage it through their school lunches. It doesn’t seem like there is any other effort being made to try and fix the problem of poor quality school lunches. Administrators see a quick solution but aren’t looking at the big picture. When childhood obesity rates go up along with the costs of healthcare, the adults responsible for this new trend will look back and regret this decision. Children need to be taken care of, educated, and directed down the right path because kids are the future of America.
there’s no stopping there. It is no big secret that excessive weight can lead to obesity, and obesity will likely lead to other issues in both adults and children. Needless to say, allowing fast food to be a part of children’s every day lunches is not only a threat to their health, but it will eventually lead to other problems in adulthood. Ignoring any common sense to promote a healthy lifestyle, cafeterias are serving fast food items in school every day and are creating bad eating habits in America’s children. It is without a doubt that fast food restaurants can create some delicious meals, which are quite appealing, but it is the parent’s and school staff’s obligation to teach children to make the right choice between a healthy meal and one with poor nutritional value. If these fast-food restaurants are serving their entrees, then kids are getting a diet low in fiber, whole grains, and milk (Bowman, 2004), and are most likely not getting any fruits or vegetables. Most children spend between six and eight hours a day in school, which is equal to a full-time job. Among the low-income population, kids get over 50% of their daily nutrition at school (Hollar, 1). This is such a great opportunity to nourish children’s health and create a high standard for good food considering they have no other option but to eat the foods that are available at school. Some might argue that kids simply won’t eat if there aren’t choices like fast food. However, in recent studies, it was found that replacing popular dishes like chicken nuggets, pasta, and patties with similar soy products had no effect on the number of school lunches consumed (Lazor, 1). Kids ate just as many soy entrees as they did other popular dishes, which prove that bringing in fast food restaurants is a weak solution. It is common sense to almost every American that consuming fast food on a regular basis causes excessive weight gain. This is because of a number of reasons. First, most fast foods are served in large portion sizes for a cheap price, which may be the most appealing thing about these foods. However, they also contain “high-energy density, that is high-energy content/food-weight ratio” according to the International Journal of Obesity (Stender, Dyerberg, and Astrup, 2). That means lots of calories packed into one hamburger, slice of pizza, or chicken nugget meal, and kids don’t know how to recognize the dangers of all of this. All they see is a yummy meal and think about how cool it is that they get to eat this junk every day. What kids don’t see is that these foods are also packed with trans fats, which can lead to high cholesterol, inflammation, diabetes mellitus, and coronary heart disease (Bauer, Waldrop, 2). Even if these dangers were posted right next to meal itself, most kids wouldn’t even give it a second thought because young minds in combination with hungry stomachs aren’t equipped to make that kind of decision. It should be up to the adults to put healthy, good quality meals in front of kids at school, not processed fast foods packed with preservatives, calories, and trans fats. Only one thing can result from all this unhealthy eating, creating bad habits, and excessive weight gain, and that is an obese population.
It goes without saying that many Americans struggle with excessive weight, most of which can be addressed early on in life. According to the Centers for Disease Control website, more than one third of adults in the U.S. were obese in 2010 (CDC.gov), which shows that obesity is one of the biggest healthcare problems the U.S. faces today. It creates a growth in healthcare costs because it causes so many other problems in individuals, most of which are life threatening. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website also states that obesity can lead to diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, cancer, high cholesterol, stroke, and respiratory problems (CDC.gov). At any age, being overweight or obese can also cause emotional problems as well, like low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. Imagine what these issues can do to a young child or even a teenager going through puberty. There is already enough pressure in the world to be thin, beautiful, and practically perfect. Adding all these physical and emotional problems only creates bigger issues that many parents or teachers don’t want to see in young children. Some might argue that it is an inherited gene so there’s no way of avoiding it. While genetics may be a predisposing factor, one shouldn’t let that determine their
fate.
It all starts in childhood, and if there is zero effort being made there, then Americans are being set up for bigger problems in the future. No one wants a child to be overweight with bad eating habits, so there is no reason to encourage it through their school lunches. It doesn’t seem like there is any other effort being made to try and fix the problem of poor quality school lunches. Administrators see a quick solution but aren’t looking at the big picture. When childhood obesity rates go up along with the costs of healthcare, the adults responsible for this new trend will look back and regret this decision. Children need to be taken care of, educated, and directed down the right path because kids are the future of America.