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School Lunches Research Paper

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School lunches, curriculum focus, and daily activities have changed in elementary schools over the years. The nutritional value in school lunches often meet a bare minimum. Curriculum is focused strongly on idealistic future careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; but often forget teaching basic healthy habits needed for lifelong health. Physical education is no longer required every single day. Obesity has become an epidemic and not just for adults, it is increasingly affecting children as well. Children spend a generous amount of time in the classroom. They spend more time in school than at home or anywhere else. Therefore, schools have a responsibility in preventing obesity in adolescents by teaching them healthy habits, serving them nutritious food, and providing them with adequate physical activity.

Children spend a generous amount of time in the classroom. Elementary students can be …show more content…

If you divide that by 20+ days a child attends school each month, you have roughly 30 minutes of physical activity per day. The definition of physical activity under this circumstance is not limited to physical education classes. Recess under Colorado law is considered to count towards those 600 minutes per month. Many elementary students receive recess multiple times per day, however, there is no guarantee that every single child is participating in physical activity. Some children prefer to sit and relax. Others may be playing soccer or on the playground. There is no requirement that a child must complete fitness activities during this time, so why should recess be able to count towards the required 30 minutes of activity per day? While recess is replacing the physical education requirement, where are children going to learn healthy habits if health and physical education are not commonly taught in the

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