Obesity is a major problem affecting children in America today and ironically it is one of the simplest problems to solve. Unfortunately, simplest does not always mean easiest. The solution is quite simple – better nutrition. While many people may disagree on what constitutes better nutrition, no one can argue that better nutrition could solve the problem.
Throughout this blog I will refer to this as a problem and not as an epidemic or disease or any other term because most people associate problems as something that can and should be solved. A problem by nature requires a solution and this is a problem that our society can and should solve. This blog will focus on the public school system and its need for better nutrition in order for society to solve this problem.
Obesity now affects 17% of all children and adolescents in the United States and there are 12.5 million who are considered obese (1). A child's eating habits are formed very early in life and once the foundation of a bad diet has been created, it is very hard to change. A large part of the problem begins with the parents. Many parents simply lack the proper nutritional education for their own diet and pass these bad eating habits down to their children. Many other parents are just not willing to put forth the effort to properly oversee their child's nutrition. While society may not be able to educate the parents, it is society's job to educate the children that attend public schools.
In far too many cases public schools are making their dietary choices based upon cost and not upon nutrition needs of the children (2). While cost will always play a role in the decision making of public schools, the nutritional needs of the child should come first and then cost should be second. According to the International Food Information Council people choose food based upon these factors:
- Biological determinants such as hunger, appetite, and taste
- Economic determinants such as cost, income, availability
- Physical determinants such as access, education, skills (e.g. cooking) and time
- Social determinants such as culture, family, peers and meal patterns
- Psychological determinants such as mood, stress and guilt
- Attitudes, beliefs and knowledge about food
REFERENCES:
(1) Obesity and Overweight for Professionals: Childhood | DNPAO | CDC
(2) http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/09/29/school.food.investigation/index.html
I truly believe that our nation has a problem and The First Lady has taken on this problem. This has been a passionate cause that she has brought attention to the public. I think the solution to this problem would be to enforce that each public school have their students involved in growing gardens and in return the school cafeteria utilizes these fruits and vegetables to serve the students. This would promote healthier eating solutions and the children would feel invested because they took part in the process. Most schools serve food that comes from a can and relate that to sodium intake. Also, think about the money that could be saved to be used on programs such as art and music.
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