Argumentative Research Paper For School Nutrition And Education

Childhood obesity has expanded tremendously within the past thirty years (CDC, 2015). It is not only a state, but also a nationwide issue. For many children, they depend on their school lunches to provide them the nutritious meals they cannot afford to have at home. As a community, we need to get our children into better shape. Not only will they become more astute, but they will also live healthier lifestyles, and have less health complications as they age. When you are overweight or obese, you are much more likely to develop health problems like heart disease, diabetes, or even a stroke. It is our responsibility as a community, state, and nation to offer nutritious meals and activities for our youth and future.

According to National Heart Lung and Blood institute, in America, 1 in 6 kids are obese. Although obesity might not seem that much of a big deal, it is. Childhood obesity can lead to much worse health problems later in adulthood, such as higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, hypertension, and even cancer, among many chronic health issues all caused by obesity. Many kids get about half of their daily calories at school, and for some, school is where they get all of their daily calories. Since school plays such a big part in affecting the lives of many kids across America, special attention should be shown to nutrition. This can help kids with obesity, as well as kids that don’t have much food at home to eat and only rely on school food. For many poor kids, they don’t have a lot of healthy foods at home, because they can’t afford it. So, they rely on cheap school food for their vitamins and nutrients. Because cafeteria foods, like hamburgers or beef and cheese nachos, are highly processed and filled with unnecessary fat ,those kids that rely on school for food won’t get the nutrients and vitamins they need and will go home hungry. Since kids are growing up, it is especially important for them to get the right food they need to grow up healthy and strong, and in a place full of kids that are growing up, it is only right to provide them with good and healthy food that will allow the kids to grow up into healthy adults without obesity, malnourishment, or any kind of health

Childhood obesity is a serious health issue currently affecting America’s population. School lunches have gained a spotlight in the search for prevention of child obesity because the majority of America’s youth eat two school meals a day during most of the year. Although the nutritional standards of school meals have been changed over the years, there is still room for improvement. With additions such as a la cart and vending machines, school meals quickly fall from the federal nutrition standards. As children grow they spend an average of 7 hours a day at school over half of the year. With almost 95% of America’s children attending school, it is one of the most stable and influential aspects of their life. With so much of a child’s time spent

Observational studies were done on school children in kindergarten through third grade. The article explains that the children’s BMIs (body mass index) were measured at the beginning of the school year, end of the school year, and then again at the beginning of the following school year. It was seen that the BMI increase of the children increased twice as much during the three summer months than during the nine-month school frame. This infers that children gain more weight and are more incline to become overweight in their own home environment than their school environment. Sloviter makes a point that this increase in BMI at such a young age will lead to an increased risk for adult obesity. She concludes the article by briefly reminding the reader to remember that there are other factors that contribute to childhood obesity and the largest factor may not be the school lunch environment after all.

About one in three american students who eat school lunches daily are in some way obese or overweight as of 2015. People in general have been experiencing a new problem in the last decade; obesity rates have been drastically increasing. School lunches may be a big contributor to these increasing percentages in overweight and obesity. The percentages have increased about 18% from tests in 1973 to 1974, to tests in 2003 to 2004. Many schools in other countries have a lower obesity rate because they server non processed foods. If schools were to change their lunches to non

First, the selling of junk food in schools increases obesity in students. Authors Lee and Sprague wrote that “The American Obesity Association estimates that 15 percent of children between six and nineteen suffer from obesity.” (4). That statistic is alarming because it deals with only a thirteen year age range between the children. Diet is the most easily identified cause of obesity and most likely the source of behavioral change (Lee and Sprague 8). Since diet is one of the main causes of obesity, a healthier diet at school can help decrease the rate of obesity. Research shows that “Adolescents in states with strict laws regulating the sale of snacks and sugary drinks in public schools gained less weight over a three-year period than those living in states with no such laws, a new study has found.” (Tavernise 1). This research from a study shows that students in states who have stricter laws on the selling of junk food at schools

Nationally, about 17% of people under the age of 20, about 12.5 million are considered obese. School districts that serve students food that are high in calories and fat are to blame for the growing numbers of obese children. Although school lunches provide students food at minimal costs, the poor quality of food served delivers inadequate nutrition and is responsible for the rising numbers of obese minors in the United States. In order to combat this growing problem, school districts must limit student choices in the lunchroom and provide healthier food nationally. Although some school districts may argue this, it is necessary to do so as school districts in Pennsylvania and Mississippi and university studies support this claim.

However, it is possible to manage the problem through school based intervention (i.e., guidance programs and physical activities). School can reduce the rate of obesity significantly by providing healthier school food option to students, increasing the level of physical activity, and improving students’ physical education and nutrition classes. Despite this, some people insist that community based interventions may better at reducing childhood school based interventions are much more effective because parents can easy participate in the program. Regardless, research has proven that school intervention have positive outcomes and empowers children to make healthier lifestyle decision when they are out of school. Physical activities will help actively reduce the weight of children and nutrition will teach them how to maintain a health BMI. It is important to remember that it only takes one positive intervention to start a chain reaction to reduce childhood obesity epidemic. Children are the future, and is in our hands to recognize that due to the intertwine natures of what is causing obesity, there is also a solution for that

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.

Dry tasteless pizza for breakfast with a pint of juice, sloppy looking food for lunch with a pint of milk? Is this the ideal nutritious meal Michelle Obama talks about? It’s no wonder the United States has become one of the top obese countries in the world. As of 2014 there hasn’t been a state in the U.S. that has had 20% or less than a population with obesity. This is seen in students and adults , or people in general. Schools are supposedly the healthiest and safest place for kids to be in, but not unless they serve processed foods and especially sell junk food. To encourage or be able to change a high school student’s eating habits may seem difficult but there are a few keys to do so.

Public school foods have the most impact on childhood obesity, and the board has decided to set a plan to terminate this issue. Studies show that most teenagers are obese due to an improper balance of calories, and calories being burned. If this issue continues in the life of an adolescent, it can bring a great deal of diseases in the future. If studies have demonstrated anything is that obesity in America is an epidemic that starts at an early age. Consequently, there is a considerable amount of meticulous steps the board will take to achieve success. The health plan will bring tremendous beneficial results to children also society as a whole. Childhood obesity is one of the major health problems in America today, and it is rooted to unhealthy school nutrition.

Many adolescents do not eat healthy.They do not often know what is good for their health.People do not often care about eating healthy and continue to eat food that is not nutritional for them. Adolescents who do not eat healthy experience many digestive issues and end up having many physical problems. people need to understand what is good and nutritious for the body . Many adolescents who eat healthy are in better shape both mentally and physically than those who do not eat healthy. One of the main benefits of eating healthy is that it keeps people’s weight under control, puts people in better moods, strengthens the immune system, promotes energy levels, and improves the lifespan of the others. K-12 Schools should eliminate unhealthy food from being served or sold in their schools. Unhealthy food;however, have a lot of negative effects which include obesity, hyperactivity, inattentiveness and loss of memory.

Prior to the nineties our youth looked proportioned to their age groups. Today many students are as large as their adult counterparts. It seems like the days are gone when children eat a healthy meal before or while at school. In many cases schools are within close proximity to fast food restaurants; therefore in this busy and lazy society parents often choose to grab something quick before or after school. In some cases fast food has completely replaced home cooked meals. Unfortunately, this kind of diet is loaded with calories and fat, which is leading to a stunning rate of youth obesity. This lifestyle pattern along with the lack of exercise must be remedied because our youth are rapidly becoming the most obese and unhealthy age group.

Schools do not reserve the right to dictate what students can and cannot consume. Students themselves are responsible for the consumption of unhealthy and healthy foods. “Obesity has three principal causes: hereditary (endocrine related), inactivity, and diet” (7) The quote explains that the consumption of fatty junk foods are not the only cause for obesity. Obesity can be caused by a multitude of factors. Some junk foods are definitely healthier than others, which is why food companies are competitive. “competitive foods” (1) An example of this would be poptarts, poptarts are low in cost and calories which makes the companies good competition to get into your hands first. Some schools have found a solution to this problem by monitoring the youth’s BMI and consumption of food. “school food environment by controlling for children’s BMI at school” (1) Obviously, the healthier the food, the less likely a student is to be and become obese. There are more solutions to

Another one of the issues at hand here at Steele Canyon High School is the number of students eating unhealthy food rather than healthy food because they lack education on the importance and significance of a healthy diet. In the article, “Laws against junk food in schools help rich students more than poor ones” by Eryn Brown and Teresa Watanabe in the LA Times (2015), they claimed that, “Overall, the proportion of kids who were overweight or obese rose slightly over the course of the study, from 43.5% in 2001 to 45.8% in 2010, the team reported”. According to this quote, Brown and Watanabe assert that that the nearly half of all US students in 2010 are obese or overweight. On the same note, I myself have seen many of my classmates eating junk food much more than healthy food. Not to mention many of my peers actually prefer junk food over healthy food. In fact, in a survey of 805 Steele Canyon students 30% of students didn’t know the negative health effects of high-fructose corn syrup and 59% said that if they knew what was bad in foods, they wouldn’t make healthier choices. This epidemic of overweight students shines light on the issue of how much junk food students are eating as part of their daily diet and just how much school food contributes to this problem. However, some say that child obesity rates from ages 10 to 17 from have gone down to 31.7% (https://stateofobesity.org) nationally and should continue to decrease. Although it’s true that many students have been