The Growing Trend of Childhood Obesity and the Needed Response of Public School Lunch Programs

The obesity epidemic is an issue that has been gaining awareness in recent years. According to the Centers for Disease Control, childhood obesity has increased about 17% since the period between 1976 and 1980 nationally. The CDC also reports that the southern region has the highest prevalence of obesity, which includes adults also. The concerns surrounding obesity are health risks and chronic disease, including those such as Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes has long been regarded as an adult disease. However, in recent years the incidence of Type 2 diabetes in children has been rising. This has implications for much larger issues. Chronic disease is a strain on the individual as well as the health care system. Prevention of such health conditions should be considered a hot topic. One avenue of addressing a portion of the issue of obesity in children is the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program. In December of 2010, President Obama signed a child nutrition reauthorization bill, entitled the Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act (The School Nutrition Association). This Act will allow schools to do many things to improve school lunches, including establishing nutritional standards for foods served to children, provide funding for 'Farm-to-School' programs, and increase the Federal reimbursement for lunches (Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act, 2010). Currently, Tennessee has implemented a program that schools can choose to use, which requires the provision of fresh fruits and vegetables to school children (The Tennessee State Department of Education). When considering the obesity trends for the United States it would seem that this would be a mandated program for all schools in Tennessee. If the question is reimbursement, then President Obama has answered that for the school system. The basic concept of weight is easily understood. Consuming more calories than you burn causes weight gain. The trouble is not the formula. The trouble is with the options. Given the option would a child choose an apple or applesauce with added corn syrup sweeteners? Would they choose a grilled chicken breast on a whole wheat bun or processed, modified chicken nuggets? We know the answer to that. At my home there is not a second option for dinner. I believe in the old saying 'you are what you eat.' My children would prefer a happy meal over a mommy meal any day. The dilemma suggested by my mother,who is an elementary school teacher, is that the children won't eat healthy foods. I suppose we should just throw our hands in the air and give in to chronic disease that will shorten the lives of many of the children most at risk. Many studies regarding school lunch programs have been published. Many schools are sucessfully elevating standard to really provide nutrition. Experts tell us that improving eating habits is necessary for the wellness of children, yet many are lagging behind. Reconstructing the food pyramid on a poster is not sufficient action for reconstructing the food pyramid of American family dinner tables. This is a larger issue that involves education for everyone. Who wants to have a chronic disease? Society can answer this issue by mandating nutritional standards for all schools. This should include the removal of all low nutritional, high calorie foods. Having this mandate would mean that skilled program planners would need to provide a feasible way to implement this policy, but it can be done. In addition, we should be educating our children about the true importance of nutrition. We need to develop creative ways to interest children in nutrition and wellness. We need to develop programs and policy that delivers real nutrition to our children, even if this means taking stand against mega corporations that stand to lose a profit from healthier choices. Who knows we may have a healthier America one day.