"Childhood obesity, it's our tsunami, it's our Katrina." (Sanders-Butler). Childhood obesity has become a key problem in American society. More children are obese in the United States than any other country in the world. Part of the problem is the vast amount of fats and sugars in American diets. A larger portion of the health problem is the amount of sugar ingested daily in various foods. Schools all over the country are stocking their vending machines with junk food full of white refined sugar. For these, and many other reasons, high fructose and white refined sugar must be removed of school lunches and or vending machines.
In the United States, approximately twenty thousand vending machines are in use in schools. It is estimated that more than half of those machines are currently selling snacks and beverages that are overflowing with white refined sugar. White refined sugar is raw sugar that is processed with different acids to give it the white color that sugar is known for. White refined sugar is nearly a drug. It is addictive and in large amounts is awful for the human body. There is variety of health problems that are to be concerned with when people consume vast amounts of sugar. One of the most important health problems in American society is obesity, but even more important is childhood obesity. The number of children obese in the United States has more than tripled in the last 20 years. Children consume up to 4 lbs of sugar a week. This number has more than doubled since the late 1800’s and into the 1900’s when the average person only ate about 5 lbs a year. Part of the reason this number is so high is because the junk food does not stop at home. It continues at school when children buy school lu...
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Everyday Americans die from the diseases they carry from obesity. Many Americans overeat because of their social problems or because they are hereditary. Many plans have been discussed, but finding the solution is the problem. Junk foods and unhealthy beverages have corrupted children’s minds all over the nation, and putting a stop to it could lead to other benefits. Unhealthy foods and drinks should be taxed and healthy foods should be advertised to help prevent American obesity.
Unhealthy foods are what make the money for schools and that is why they serve them for students. (Schlafy) Schools feel like they need the extra money in the budget, even though it is at the student’s expense. Data shows that nearly 60% of all middle schools in the US serve soda from vending machines. (Schlafy) Soda is very high in sugar and is not at all good for children, but it is still sold in school vending machines. The ways food in schools is now are way too high in fats and sugars. This is not good for the children and very bad in the long run. Elementary schoolchildren have an estimated $15 billion of their own money that they can use to buy whatever they want in schools, and parents have almost another $160 billion to give students for food money. (Schlafy) Big businesses see this as a big source of profit and therefore encourage children to buy their products, and want them to be offered in school because of th4e likelihood of children buying the business’s product. All in all, obesity in the US is greatly influenced by the foods offered in schools
Unfortunately, the widespread availability of sugar makes it difficult for parents and children to make healthy, convenient food and drink choices. This is especially important for kids who are still developing their nutritional foundation, metabolism, and hormones, even a little sugar can be harmful. Would you give your children a bottle of poison and allow them to consume it? Of course not, what parent would. But unknowingly that’s exactly what you are doing when you provide your children with any type of sugary drink whether it be fruit juice or a fizzy drink. A 600ml bottle of soft drink can contain up to 16 teaspoons of sugar. The permeation of sugar through today’s society makes it plainly clear to see that placing a tax on sugary drinks is not enough to combat child obesity. This solution is not enough to overcome this issue in the long term. It needs to be coupled with a strong educational campaign which targets, not only children in schools, but adults in the community through both television, radio and
Tom Harkin, US congressman from Iowa, says that obesity now contributes to the death of more than 360,000 Americans a year. The incidence of childhood obesity is now at epidemic levels. Alarm bells are going off all over the place, but our government has basically done nothing. The obesity rate has risen to epidemic proportions in the United States. Communities across the country, recognizing obesity as an issue of serious public health concern, are looking for innovative ways to halt the increasing rate of obesity (Davis 260). The rising prevalence of childhood and adult obesity can be explained in part by changes in our environment over the last 30 years; in particular, the unlimited supply of convenient, highly palatable and energy-dense foods, coupled with a lifestyle typified by low physical activity (Farooqui 5-7). Childhood obesity in America is a growing epidemic--because of advertisement of fast food, lack of physical activities, and parental control--that has lasting psychological effects.
It’s no secret that the U.S. is encouraging people to pursue healthier lifestyles in order to combat the obesity epidemic. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration have recently joined the fight against obesity by advocating for the elimination of Trans fats from the American food supply (Tavernise, 2013). Not to mention the policy initiates that have been created in order to help combat childhood obesity (the Let’s Move policy initiative). Simply put, the nation’s p...
Obesity has become an epidemic in adults and children in the United States. Moreover, children are at risk of obesity because they do not eat enough fruits and vegetables and do not obtain enough physical activity. Also, children have a higher chance of developing health diseases related to obesity such as hypertension, high cholesterol, stroke, heart disease, diabetes and pulmonary disease. In addition, obesity in children from ages one to seventeen is an issue in Texas, since children are not aware of the serious consequences of being obese. Therefore, Texas should find ways to prevent obesity by authorizing healthier school lunches and allowing a school program to help obese children lose weight. Also, television advertisements are influencing obese children to make unhealthy choices.
Americans eat entirely too much. And the foods we are consuming are not at all healthy, they contain excessive amounts of salt, sugar, saturated fat, carbohydrates, etc. This over eating is not only a severe problem in the adult population but also in America’s children as well. Results from a study performed by the Journal of the American Dietetic Association showed that 1 to 2 year olds get 30 percent more of the 950 calories they require a day. It has also been found that another contributing factor to most children’s bad eating habits is the fact that they either rarely or never consume vegetables and fruit. Besides the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables children are consuming large amounts of sugar. Wether it be in candy or desserts, soda or sugary fruit juices children are beginning to consume these at very early ages. Results from another study performed by the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that infants are drinking soda out of baby bottles as early as 7 months of age. In response to these disturbing facts Parents magazine published the preceding article. It outlines 10 steps that can be taken to
In “Hooked on ‘Caramel-Colored Gold,” Melody Nelson claims “Despite the increased awareness of the benefits of good nutrition, we are a nation hooked on junk food, and many school administrators are taking advantage of the situation ” (par. 3). Nelson propose a ban on vending machines in schools because junk food is unhealthy for children, and they risk future health problems. I agree with Melody Nelson and believe that vending machines should be banned from school campuses, because they sell unhealthy food, they cause more money to schools for hiring extra custodians, and they are affecting children learning abilities.
Furthermore, schools have become a paradise for fast-food franchises . Vending machines stocked with candy and soft drinks are unacceptable: nearly 19 out of 20 high schools in the U.S. have vending machines that sell pop, while almost 60 percent of elementary schools do. More than 70 percent of high schools sell can...
The health of the nation’s youth has been under scrutiny lately due to recent reports that are showing an increase in average body mass index (BMI), poor physical fitness, and elevations in blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood lipids (Eagle, Gurm, Goldberg, DuRussel-Weston, Kline-Rogers, Palma-Davis, Aaronson, Fitzgerald, Mitchell, Rogers, Breunger, Jackson, and Eagle 2010). Eagle et al. (2010) Attribute the decrease in health to “fast food, lack of physical activity due to increased TV and computer screen time, and there is also an expanding appreciation for an inherited basis for childhood obesity” (P.1185). Sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) account for on average 159 calories daily and an average of 9 tablespoons of added sugar daily (Briefel, Wilson, Cabili, & Hedley Dodd, 2013). ...
How many obese children have you seen today? Obesity is one of the largest health problems Americans are currently facing. It can lead to many baleful complications, including heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, cancer, mobility issues, high blood pressure, bullying, and lack of self-esteem. According to the CDC, about 17% of children and adolescents aged 2-19 are obese, and 30% are overweight. In adults, around 70% are overweight and 30% are obese. Nevertheless, our nation’s public schools are continuously promoting virulent foods through its lunch programs and on-campus advertisements. Although I understand that unhealthy food is cheaper and tastier, we must remember that those foods are causing our nation’s children to become obese. Factors such as cheap unhealthy foods in school lunches, junk food ads in schools, and teachers eating pernicious foods in class are causing more and more children to make the easy choice, the unhealthy choice. Obesity is a growing epidemic in the U.S, one that we need to promptly eradicate.
In our contemporary world, there is an abundance of sugar and it is something we eat regularly; however, things were not always this way. Arriving in Europe roughly 1000 years ago, sugar was rare, highly sought after, and was used as medicine, as well as food. This paper explores the history of sugar in Europe, outlining the ways it was first introduced, as well as its usage in the medical field. Moreover, resistance to sugar as medicine by certain theologians, led by Miguel Serveto, began a contentious debate in regards to sugar’s place in the European diet.
...ost serious public health challenges of the 21st century. Overweight children are likely to become obese adults and they are more likely to develop diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at a younger age, which in turn are associated with a higher chance of premature death and disability. A major cause of obesity is an increased intake of highly fattening foods, without physical activity to burn the fat, which of course leads to an unhealthy increase in weight. Adult and children’s choices, in regards to diet and physical activity habits are influenced by their surrounding environment. Companies know that ice cream can’t be classified as being healthy but many companies worked to put out new products that have reduced far, sugar, reduced carbohydrates and added in calcium. They do this to meet the demand of consumers that are looking to live a healthier lifestyle.
16 Feb. 2014. DiSalvo, David. " What Eating Too Much Sugar Does to Your Brain."
Processed food should be banned from school meals due to increasing health issues in children, increasing academic deficiency and increasing production cost to produce processed foods. There are people who would oppose to this idea due to population growth and an increasing food demand. However, this escalating demand of food is forcing the food industry and other government agencies to resolve the current hunger and lack of resources issues, by hiring processing factories and private companies to manufacture processed foods. The greater part of school age children consume processed foods on a daily basis.