Emily Tym Xu Li English 111 October 25 , 2013

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Putting an end to Unhealthy

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! number one "roblem gro#ing throughout the United $tates is childhood obesity% !ccording to &r% 'ichard (% &ec)elbaum and hristine L% *illiams+s article on hildhood Obesity, ,a""ro-imately 22

million children under 5 years o. age are o/er#eight across the #orld0 1232$3% $ur"risingly, the number o. children becoming obese has increased and doubled o/er the recent t#o to three decades 1232$3% The go/ernment, such as 4ichelle Obama and school boards, ha/e closely loo)ed at the gro#ing "roblem% Their recent .ocus has been on the )inds o. .oods and snac)s that are sold in school /ending machines% 5ecause the rate o. childhood obesity continues to increase, go/ernment "rograms and schools should regulate #hat they sell during the school day% Logically s"ea)ing, #hen one is hungry, it is common to get something to eat that #ill satis.y our hunger% 6o#e/er, it has been increasingly a""arent that !mericans are eating a lot more sugary, high calorie, .at content .oods that could be contributing to an e-cess amount o. #eight gain% !n area that has been largely loo)ed at is the .oods and snac)s sold in schools% One ma7or "roblem in this area is the

increasing rates o. childhood obesity% *hile ha/ing these ty"es o. .oods occasionally isn+t only #hat is ma)ing "eo"le obese, obesity is ,the result o. caloric imbalance8too .e# calories e-"ended .or the amount o. calories consumed01!dolescent and $chool 6ealth3% *hen children are "resent at school, their "arents are not there to tell them #hat healthy o"tions they should choose to ha/e% 5ecause /ending machines are .illed #ith unhealthy .oods, such as sugar drin)s 1soda3, chi"s, coo)ies, and candy, children tend to naturally gra/itate their cra/ings to#ards these ty"es o. .oods instead o. ones #ith more nutrient dense .i-ations% !s stated by The Journal of Adolescent Health, ,the school en/ironment is one im"ortant in.luence that "lays a signi.icant role in teaching and modeling eating beha/iors to children%0 These .oods tend to be high in calorie, sugar, sodium, and .at, being a "ossible contribution to the increasing numbers o. obese children 1'oyner et% al3% 9n addition, as a result o. being chea"er .or the schools, the school lunches that are "ro/ided are ,high:energy, lo#: nutrient:/alue .ood0 1'abin, 20113% !ccording to the U%$ &e"artment o. !griculture stated in a 2001 re"ort that, ,many o. #hom eat school: "ro/ided lunches, consume as much as hal. their calories each day at school%0 !nother 2002 study noted that students that consume a ,sugar:s#eetened be/erage;s< add 112 calories0 to their daily diet 15ernstein3% These drin)s are 7ust e-tra calories that ha/e /ery .e# nutrients, and can add on #hen they sit in school .or most o. the day

and consume more than one o. these ty"es o. sugary drin)s% 9t #as addressed by the enters .or &isease ontrol and Pre/ention 1 & 3,

that on a ty"ical day, roughly ,=0> o. students0 drin)s that are loaded #ith sugar% *ith the increasing number o. obese children, many belie/e it is im"ortant to e-amine #hat these )ids are eating throughout the day to see i. there is any correlation bet#een the .oods in schools and their .ood inta)e% The U%$ 6ealth and 5eha/ior in $chool:aged hildren

165$ 3, .or e-am"le, loo)ed to e-amine the relationshi" bet#een the .ood that is retailed in schools and the dietary inta)e by students% They conducted a sur/ey .rom 2005:200? and #as used to sam"le students in grades si- through ten, that as)ed students a""ro-imately ho# many times they consumed .ruits, /egetables, s#eets, soda, and chi"s in a day% !ccording to the results o. the sur/ey, ,=3> had /ending machines, and so.t drin)s #ere the most common item .ound in them%0 9n general, the inta)e o. .oods /aried by grade% 6o#e/er, the results sho#ed that younger children #hose schools sold .ruits and /egetables consumed them more than those that didn+t sell them in /ending machines% $imilarly, schools that sold s#eets illustrated that children #ere more a"t to eating s#eets than schools that didn+t o..er them% The end results o. this sur/ey sho#ed that, de"ending on the contents o. #hat is sold in throughout the schools, the ty"es o. .ood can a..ect the children+s diet "ositi/ely and or negati/ely% They addressed that it

is, ,there.ore, im"ortant that schools address the @uality o. .ood sold in /ending machines in their #ellness "olicies0 1'oyner et% al3% The conductors o. the sur/ey also belie/e that because schools are #here students are .or the ma7ority o. the day, they are the ones that ha/e a strong in.luence in #hat the children eat and should ta)e more res"onsibility to#ards #hat is and is not sold% !s a #ay o. trying to change the school en/ironment, there ha/e been a number o. "rograms created to change the #ay schools distribute and control the .oods that they sell% 9n the .all o. 201A, schools nation#ide #ill be re@uired to "ro/ide only ,health .oods0 in the ,/ending machines, stores and ,a la carte0 lunch menus%0 The changes #ill include s#itching out the high calorie, high .at, high sugar content .oods .or these ne# ,healthy .oods0, such as lo# .at and lo# sodium cheese #ith #hole grain crust on "iBBas in the lunch lines, and nuts, granola bars, and #ater in the /ending machines instead o. the candy bars, "otato chi"s, and sodas% One such grou", the 6ealthy 6unger:Cree Dids !ct o. 2010, ,has been res"onsible .or increasing .ruit and /egetables and reducing .at, sodium and sugar in the brea).asts and lunches ser/ed in school ca.eterias%0 The ne# nutritional standards includeE .oods ha/ing ,.e#er than 200 calories, less than 230 milligrams o. sodium, less than 35 "ercent o. their calories .rom .at and less than 35 "ercent o. their #eight .rom sugar0 15ernstein3% This grou" also created the ,$mart $nac)s in $chool0 that

a lots .or .le-ible ,time:honored traditions0, li)e .undraisers and .un e/ents, that #ill continue to #or) #ith students and "arents to carry out ne# guidelines to ad/ocate .or ne#er and healthier choices% !side .rom countless number o. the "rograms that "ro"ose that these ne# "rinci"les "ermit students .rom the unhealthy snac)s during the school day, schools #ill still allo# .or .undraisers and a.ter:school e/ents to sell the other ty"es o. snac)s% 6o#e/er, there are some #ho that o""ose and "roclaim that they #ere gi/en their .ree and indi/idual rights through the 5ill o. 'ights in the U%$ onstitutionF e-"laining #hat the basic rules and

rights o. indi/idual !merican citiBens are% The obesity "roblem has been an ongoing issue .or many years and the go/ernment .elt the need to inter/ene and regulate #hat can be allo#ed .or sale in the schools% Cor e-am"le, as a "art o. the &e"artment o. !griculture, the Gational $chool Lunch Program and $chool 5rea).ast Program sets ,to establish nutrition standards .or all .oods sold in schools%0 The ne# rules and regulations by this "rogram, ho"e ,to im"ro/e the health and #ell being o. the Gation+s children, increase consum"tion o. health.ul .oods during the school day, and create an en/ironment that rein.orces the de/elo"ment o. healthy eating habits0 1,Gutrition $tandards03% !lthough many are .or these "rograms and #ant them to be en.orced, according to The 5ill o. 'ights, !merican citiBens ha/e been gi/en indi/idual rights as to #hat goes into their mouth%

5esides the .act that there are a number o. bene.its o. decreasing the a/ailability o. these ,unhealthy .oods0 at schools, in collaboration #ith the .ree indi/idual rights o. human citiBens, the ones that testi.y against go/ernment inter/ention argue it is unla#.ul and #on+t necessarily sto" obesity% Cor e-am"le, a number o. 'e"ublican conser/ati/es claimed that, ,the go/ernment shouldnHt be telling )ids #hat to eat0 and that some o. the ne# regulations #ould be hard to meet 15ernstein3% 9t has been re"orted that one o. the schools main concern is the di..iculty to the ad7ustment o. the loss in re/enue .rom the .ood they sell in the /ending machines% !ccording to 4aria a director .rom the di/ision o. .ood and nutrition ser/ices .or 4ontgomery ounty Public $chools, ,students buy less .rom /ending a"lon,

machines no#, there are .e#er machines and some schools lost bonuses that be/erage com"anies #ere "aying to )ee" machines in schools%0 !lthough schools ha/e lost a signi.icant amount o. money .rom the ne# regulations, a"lon claims, it shouldn+t all come do#n to

ho# the schools #ill be at a disad/antage but, be,about the health o. the )ids0 15ernstein3% !nother disclaimer that arises is ho# much inter/ention the go/ernment should be allo#ed in telling "eo"le #hat they can and can+t eat% One critic, Peter !ttia .rom The Eating !cademy, ac)no#ledges that, ,the dis"ro"ortionate media co/erage is the role the media "lays in our belie.s o. #hat constitutes a healthy diet%0 !ttia argues that the go/ernment should not be "re/enting one

.rom eating #hat they #ant, but as a nation, "eo"le ;are< using the 9nternet to ta)e res"onsibility .or their o#n health, and to hel" ins"ire others to learn more about health and im"ro/e themsel/es as #ell0 1!ttia3% 9n addition, it should also be in the eyes o. the indi/idual that #ants to im"ro/e their health% One can only contribute so much su""ort and moti/ation to someone, but it all comes do#n to #hether or not the "eo"le #ant the change .or themsel/es% The contro/ersy o/er #hat should be done in school still continues to be a number one discussion based to"ic% Ultimately, it is u" to the indi/idual about ho# they are going to li/e their li.e% 6o#e/er, by the year 201A, the ne# regulations in schools #ill start to a""ear and be en.orced% The "ur"ose .or these changes are not to sto" "eo"le .rom eating these .oods altogether, but to limit them to a certain amount% En.orcing a ne# .ood en/ironment in schools #ill be and is challenging #or) that #ill constantly re@uire a lot o. attention% 4any o. the school nutritionists and health "ro.essionals that are dedicated in de/elo"ing and encouraging meaning.ul .ood "olicies into healthy school "ractices #ill continue to regulate and re"ort on #hat #or)s and doesn+t #or) in schools%

*or)s

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120113 Journal of Adolescent Health, A= 113 , ""% 13:12% IGutrition $tandards .or !ll Coods $old in $chool as 'e@uired by the 6ealthy, 6unger:Cree Dids !ct o. 2010%I ,ood and Nutrition Service% G%"%, 2= (une 2013% *eb% 22 Oct% 2013% Lhtt"EMM###%.ns%usda%go/Mnutrition: standards:all .oods:sold:school:re@uired:healthy:hunger:.ree:)ids:act:2010N% 'abin, 'oni aryn % I hildhoodE Obesity and $chool Lunches%I New -ork Ti es A Ceb% 2011E 1% Print% 'o/ner !%(%, Gansel T%'%, *ang (%, 9annotti '%(% Cood sold in school /ending machines is associated #ith o/erall student dietary inta)e 120113 Journal of Adolescent Health, A= 113 , ""% 13:12%