By Juan Villanueva |
Over the last decade, public schools have tried to feed students healthier meals, but the reality is that, on the whole, student lunches are still very unhealthy.
In average public schools, foods such as pizza, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, hot dogs, and other fatty foods are still served daily.
School meals have a long reputation of being unhealthy, however students still choose to consume them, some of them not being aware of what these foods can cause them.
As reported by WebMD, consumption of unhealthy foods creates desire for more fatty foods effectively putting consumers’ health at risk. It’s an interesting phenomenon. Not only fat, but also salt and sugar create more addictive cravings for us to consume more of it.
Obesity can cause many health issues including heart disease, diabetes, chronic problems, certain types of cancer and fatally, death.
Over the past decades, obesity trends have begun to increase rapidly. According to a study done by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, in 2012 it was discovered that childhood obesity had doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents over the past 30 years.
With that, along came a seven to 18 percent increase in obesity of children and five to 21 percent in adolescents. It was also found that children are more prone to be overweight than adults.
Of course, the obvious reason we see this increase in obesity rates is because of the popularity of fast food places like McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and other chains that we love. But, fast food restaurants aren’t the only ways that children’s and teenagers’ health is manipulated.
School food does indeed also play a big role in a student’s health. This is seen more because students tend to consume the food offered by their cafeteria rather than bringing their own lunch.
Schools have taken steps such as offering consumers healthier green foods, but that has not been enough. Programs like Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move have also helped reduce obesity rates, but trends continue to move up because of the lack of connection between schools, since many schools refuse to get rid of fatty foods and offer students green options like salad bars.
Making school meals healthier would indeed not dissolve obesity rates, but it could make a big difference in the way things are headed. Healthier foods could in fact help teach students the correct way to eat. Perhaps school programs could offer a ‘green’ environment in the cafeteria that could teach students at an early age.
Then, whether students choose to follow these guidelines to be healthy outside of school, that would be up to every individual and their guardian to decide what they consume and how to control their health.