The Unhealthy School Lunches

From personal estimation, school nutrition has effect the lifestyle of the students that consume the food the school serves by their body’s condition and tedious habits. It has become common for the consumers of these foods to dismiss and forget about the nutritional value of what they are eating…or missing. The changes to the menu over the years have not been enough to help students keep up a decent condition in growth and health for their well-being. Overweight or obese children pose a higher risk physical and psychological health problems and economic concern for the country. Over the years, obesity has increased dramatically and is continually taking control of our nation.

Some might argue that kids themselves are the reason for the increase, because school lunches also provide healthier foods. Unfortunately, most kids do not have much of a choice - healthier foods are priced much higher than their unhealthy counterpart, consequently many parents do not want their kids to buy the more expensive, yet healthier product. In my 3½ years ... ... middle of paper ... ...n with a culture of obesity seemingly set in stone, our nation still has a chance to escape this predicament by spreading the message about healthy eating, imposing limitations on teacher food choices, setting additional requirements for Phys. Ed classes, and serving healthier foods in school lunch programs. For the sake of our nation’s children, let’s eliminate this problem and give parents the peace of mind they deserve.

Are the school lunches affecting the children’s health in a poor way? Studies have shown that the majority of schools are not serving the proper amount of food or even “good” food due to the cost. “Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach said that school lunches are, in fact, causing child obesity” (Schanzenbach). Schanzenbach also claims that the “Reduced-Lunches” also has a factor in obesity, due to student’s being able to purchase more unhealthy foods than usual. There are ways to boost up the school lunches to help benefit the students.

Nationally, about 17% of people under the age of 20, about 12.5 million are considered obese. School districts that serve students food that are high in calories and fat are to blame for the growing numbers of obese children. Although school lunches provide students food at minimal costs, the poor quality of food served delivers inadequate nutrition and is responsible for the rising numbers of obese minors in the United States. In order to combat this growing problem, school districts must limit student choices in the lunchroom and provide healthier food nationally. Although some school districts may argue this, it is necessary to do so as school districts in Pennsylvania and Mississippi and university studies support this claim.

Many families cannot afford the rising costs of lunch. It seems that many schools are not exactly happy with the new regulations being made by the USDA because many kids are still hungry at the end of the day, and many of them have extra-curricular activities after school. Michelle Obama thinks that cutting portion size is a good way to help with childhood obesity, but by doing this children are just unhealthy and hungry. Many people believe that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is not making a lot of progress in making school lunches healthy and cost efficient. In order to solve these problems, many families choose to have their child bring their own lunch to school.

The more access kids have with unhealthy food, is the schools because schools have junk foods and how hard is it to ask mom or dad for some money for they can get some chips, pop, candy and all those unhealthy snacks, and not getting yelled at by their parents. Because of obesity the number is increasing in America we should ban all junk foods from schools. More than 40 percent of children are over weight mostly because of unhealthy foods and lack of exercise. The parents should be more involved in the kids eating habits. They should talk with their children what they can or can’t eat on the school menus.

School cafeterias and school vending machines do not encourage the best eating habits in schools, high schools in particular. It is more convenient to serve frozen foods like pizzas and frozen lasagnas almost every day. Without realizing how those unhealthy foods are really affecting the kids performances in school and their everyday life activities, such as in physical education class. The vending machines which have mostly sodas and chips are also convenient for kids, but they are consuming tremendous amount of sugars that are so unhealthy for their diets. In high schools, their hormones are changing and when they eat or drink foods that are not healthy, their hormones respond to those, by making them hyper, unable to learn and to comprehend subjects better in schools.

School Nutrition “New School lunch standards implemented as a result of First Lady Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity campaign have led to more than 1 million children leaving the lunch line, according to a new report.” (Elizabeth Harrington 3). Because of The Healthy and Hunger-Free Kids Act “ New meals are required to offer a whole grain,protein,fat free or low fat milk, fruits and vegetables”(Arit John 10). Even if the government regulates school lunches to prevent obesity and diabetes, the government should not be able to regulate them because students are not happy with the new school nutrition requirements, schools should be responsible for providing a nutritious lunch children will eat. The Government regulates school lunches

A proper diet affects learning more than people think. Schools should switch to healthier lunch providers. It’s worth the price, even if it may be much more money than the less healthy alternatives. Students don’t eat the garbage they are fed now, and the companies that provide them their food are dishonest and in no way concerned about the students’ health. (“Students”) Healthier lunches have been proven to make students happier, smarter, and nicer.

Kids are not getting enough nutrition during their lunch because of the poor food choices served in schools. Perhaps, kids choose poor foods because over $4.6 billion dollars is spent marketing those foods to them (Children and Fast Food). The school lunch foods contain high amounts of saturated fat, salt, and sugar. When kids eat the school lunch items in excess amounts, it can cause weight gain, memory loss, and slow brain development (Children and Fast Food). The poor choices made during the day may be contributing to an increase in childhood obesity.