Food Served in Schools – There Needs To Be a Change
15

English 215 Research and Writing
February 8, 2013

Children and adolescents have increasingly gained weight over the years, with one reason being that children are spending less time engaged in physical activities. Where children used to go outside to play and were physically active, today they can be found in front of television sets for long hours, watching TV or playing video games, neither of which require much physical interaction. Children have also become accustomed to eating fast food and vending machine junk food as opposed to healthy choices in meals. Healthcare providers, teachers and parents can play an important role in helping to reduce obesity in children. Some suggestions to help with this growing problem includes making changes to the food that is served in school cafeterias, and encouraging children to become more physically active. (Green & Reese; 2006) Nearly 1 in 3 children in America are overweight or obese. According to www.childrensdefense.org, “child obesity among school-aged children and adolescents has tripled and is affecting children at an increasingly younger age.” In the spring of 2010, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine studied the nutritional value of school lunches and found that many lunchrooms were still serving foods high in calories, saturated fats, sugars and refined grains. (www.livestrong.com) In order to ensure that school children receive meals that are healthy and which provide nutritional value, changes to the regulations for foods that are served in public schools need to be made and adhered to across the board. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2004), “Over 16 percent of children and adolescents from six to 19 years of age are overweight and/or obese.” They also note that those numbers have, since