Healthy Food In Schools Gaining Momentum

School boards across North America have beenand cleverly disguised fats.
challenged in recent years to get rid of the junk food inKids are easy targets for this kind of manipulation
school cafeterias and vending machines and replace itwhen the same kind of meals and snacks are
with healthy, nutritious meals and snacks.transplanted into a school environment.
And while it may seem obvious that this is the rightThe consequences of childhood overweight are also
thing to do, it is not always that simple.well known. The Center for Disease Control estimates
**No serious debatethat as many as 61 percent of overweight children
There is no serious debate that schools should behave conditions such as high blood pressure and high
serving healthy food. Everyone in a position to carecholesterol that make them more at risk for heart
about this issue -- parents, physicians, teachers anddisease. They are also much more susceptible to type
administrators -- agrees that children need nutritious,2 diabetes, a disease that until a few years ago was
high-fiber, low-fat foods to remain healthy andassociated only with adults.
attentive, and to set them on the right path for their**Financial obstacles to healthy eating policy
adult years.Many school boards have suffered funding cuts over
Most informed decision-makers have also becomethe last twenty years. Vending machines stocked with
aware of the scandalous numbers of children who arenonnutritious snacks, and exclusive contracts with soft
now overweight or obese. Childhood obesity has beendrink bottlers have been used by many school boards
called an "epidemic" brought on by poor diet and lackas a source of revenue.
of exercise. In some areas of the U.S., as many as 1 inBut school administrators across the country are
4 children meet the definition of being overweight orrealizing the revenue is relatively small, and the
obese.trade-off is irresponsible. Some are restocking vending
**Causes and consequences of poor dietmachines with healthy foods, and in some cases,
Most children become overweight or obese becauserecouping the initial losses by using more sophisticated
of two factors: poor diet and lack of activity. If youmarketing strategies.
want a child to get fat, there is a well-known formulaOther long-standing policies of the U.S. Department of
to get the job done. Just encourage little Billy to eat lotsAgriculture also tend to discriminate in favor of diets
of calorie-rich foods while sitting around playing videothat are heavy in meat and milk. The Physicians
games and watching television. He'll be overweight inCommittee for Responsible Medicine notes that meat
no time.alternatives are not subsidized by government, but
The North American life style encourages this kind ofmeat and meat products are. The result is that a
unhealthy behavior. Like all of us, children arelow-fat, low-cholesterol veggie burger is often twice as
bombarded by advertising encouraging them to eatexpensive as a high-fat hamburger. The same thing
high-calorie, high-fat, high-sodium foods.happens with milk. Milk production is subsidized, but not
The break down of traditional family meal patternsthe production of low-fat alternatives.
also encourages the consumption of fast foods. FastDespite these obstacles, individual schools and district
food is prepared by restaurant chains whose primaryschool boards are making progress. School cafeterias
motivation is mass marketing. Not surprisingly, theyare introducing more healthy meal selections, and
have discovered that one of the most effective waysgroups of concerned parents are springing up to
to sell their products is to "spike" them with sugar, saltsupport healthy food choices for children in schools.