To the Honorable Edward R. Reilly, I would like to present to you my concerns with the health of our youth in Maryland. In the recent years, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have raised the nutritional standards in school lunches. However, the schools in Anne Arundel County and Queen Anne’s county such as Broadneck, Severna Park, and Kent Island high school are at the bare minimum with these standards. If we want our youth to succeed not only in school, but also in life, we need to provide them with a larger amount of healthy foods and less unhealthy choices. Providing healthier foods will lay the foundation for our youth to make healthier food choices outside of school.
The main dish in our school lunches on a given day is limited to chicken nuggets, corn dogs, tacos, mashed potatoes, or macaroni and cheese. Unfortunately, these foods offer an abundance in starches, sugars, and carbohydrates. These foods do provide some nutritional value, but not enough to keep our youth energized and nourished throughout the day.
One study done by Andrew J. Murray in which rats were fed a diet high in saturated fats had slower cognitive functioning than those on a normal diet (Murray, 2009). This slow cognitive functioning in rats after being fed a poor diet can be compared to our youth’s lower academic performance. Another study done by the American Society for Nutrition, found that higher intakes of polyunsaturated fatty acids found in vegetable oils and some fish may contribute to improved academic performance. They also found that a higher intake of cholesterol was linked to poorer performance (Miller, 2014).
According to the American Heart Association, a healthy diet includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, skinless poultry, and fat-free/low-fat dairy products. It is understood that all of these items are unnecessary for a school lunch, however it is achievable and beneficial to come close to each category (AHA Diet and Lifestyle). Providing just ½ cup of cooked rice, or pasta satisfies the grains food group. In the vegetable group, just ½ cup of cut-up raw or cooked vegetables such as broccoli, sweet potato, green beans, or carrots meets that value. A medium fruit, such as a pear, peach, banana, apple, or orange, is enough to satisfy the fruit recommendation for 1 meal. By swapping whole milk with low fat/fat free milk is a healthier option, and has the calcium that regular whole milk provides. If schools served 3 ounces of grilled meat or fish, it would satisfy the meat/poultry/seafood option as well as provide a great source of protein. Giving students healthier options instead chips and soda can improve our youths cognitive functioning. Snacks that are not beneficial to our health in school are unnecessary. School lunches are not providing our youth with the proper nutrients that would not only increase the cognitive functioning that is necessary to succeed in school, but also the key to heating healthy outside of school.
Thank you for your time and considering my request.
Sincerely,
Tia Aponte
References
American Heart Association's Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations. (n.d.). Retrieved September 21, 2015.
Gavin, M. (2014, September 1). MyPlate Food Guide. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
Miller, K., Hooper, S., Simeonsson, R., & Torres, S. (2014). B-38 * Weighing in on the Relationship between Macronutrient Intake, Weight Status, Cognitive Functioning, and Academic Performance in School-Aged Children. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology.
Murray, A., Knight, N., Cochlin, L., Mcaleese, S., Deacon, R., Rawlins, J., & Clarke, K. (2009). Deterioration of physical performance and cognitive function in rats with short-term high-fat feeding. The FASEB Journal, 4353-4360.