Should Selling Junk Food in School Canteens Be Banned?

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Junk food has often been associated with the rise of childhood obesity problems in Australia. Over the past 3 decades, the nutritional values of food consumed by young children in Australia have declined dramatically and reached a critical rate (Tran 2005). Nevertheless, the direct cause of health disorders remains questioned by concerned public. Several experts claim that moderate consumption of junk food can actually contribute to healthy eating diets. On top of that, school principals voice out their concerns about losing the source of income by not selling junk food. Despites concerns on junk food, the eating choices among the children should be further argued due to the excessive amounts they consume (Family Journal 2005). Therefore, sale of junk food in school canteens should not be prohibited as the ban is futile and affects the amount of profits earned by school canteens while junk food can be part of healthy diets as well.

The sale of junk food in school canteens should not be forbidden as it fails to address the issue of over-consumption among children. Statistics in 2003 illustrate a slight more than 50% of Australian children having high intake of foods that contain sugar and calorie at their home (Australian Nutrition Journal 2004). This clearly indicates that restricting students buying junk food from school canteens would not help change children diets because their eating habits are determined by their family background. In fact, children are given the freedom of food choices by their parents. To avoid consumption of junk food, it is certainly vital for parents to inculcate healthy eating habits among their children. As suggested by sports nutritionist, Adrian Cook, family education is more efficient in curbing ...

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...s on the gradual change from junk food to healthy foods in Cook High School from 2001 to 2003 in which the profits drop 25% annually (School News 2005). Hence, schools should continue selling junk food as it has become an important source of income that financially supports the development of education in schools.

In conclusion, the sale of junk food in school canteens should not be prohibited due to the fact that the ban is ineffective to curb the overweight issues among Australian children. With reasonable consumption of junk food, it can be a form of a healthy diet besides generating lucrative profits for the benefits of education and school canteens. To prevent obesity and dental issues from deteriorating, healthy eating choices are a key to concern and should be cultivated adequately among the children by all parties, particularly parents and schools.

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