Banning Junk Food in Schools

Ban Junk Food
Junk food. Is it the responsibility of schools to ban junk food and promote a healthy lifestyle for children of all ages between 6-18? Yes, yes it is. In my opinion schools promoting a healthy lifestyle is as important as the children’s parents’ responsibility. Schools have as much impact in that department as children are fed during school hours.
When talking about school we think of children learning different subjects, history, math, science and etc. I think learning about health and healthy life choices is as important as any other subject, and that should not just be restricted to classrooms. Schools have a great possibility to educate young people about the importance of being healthy.
We all know it is no secret that junk food makes you fat, but studies have shown that over the past ten years, obesity has doubled to 8.5 percent among six year olds and trebled to an astonishing 15 percent among 15 year olds. If we do not do anything about it then this generation of children could be the first to live shorter lives than their parents. (Dame Suzi Leather, the Daily Mail 1, page 2)
Schools have a responsibility to provide healthy food choices and not just the cheapest ones (which usually happens to be the unhealthy kind). The majority of schools have contracts with unhealthy food suppliers. Most of the budget usually goes to funding sports. What the school boards do not realize is that eating healthy is a crucial part of staying fit, and if the school districts were to pick healthier food suppliers they would see that local food suppliers would gladly provide them these choices, as it is good business for them.
“There was wide variations on the money spent on dinners – from East Lothian council which spent £3.3...

... middle of paper ...

...ntly, Republican House Representative Ken King introduced HB1781, a bill that ensures that Texas schools to sell foods of minimal nutritional value, which does absolutely nothing to benefit the health of children. The passing of this bill clearly shows that the Texas legislature cares more about the money they make than the health of the children. (Bettina Elias Siegel, the Huffington Post)
Though Texas schools will profit from this, due to the high budget cuts that has been made throughout the country, and save money to other things, such as textbooks or new computers, it should not jeopardize the children’s health to that cost. There are other ways of saving money and still keep inconsideration of the children’s health. As previously stated, schools have turned to the local food suppliers in the United Kingdom for healthier options, while saving money by doing so.