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The hazards of junk food
Essay on nutritional school lunches
Essay on nutritional school lunches
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In recent years America’s health and economy have become a hot topic of debate in legislative offices. Recent legislation concerning the food served in schools nationwide has undergone changes that have cause widespread debate on the role of the federal government in students’ lives, the possible effects on the industry that supply food to schools and the effects on the schools and students themselves. In some cases the debated changes are welcomed with open arms and are merely formalities, in others the changes are reasons to lobby congress to convince them that pizza is counted as a vegetable because it has tomato paste. In the long run some of the changes will make a positive impact on the health of children, and businesses will find ways to adapt to the new regulations and succeed.
As of 2008 an estimated 17% of children between the ages of 2-19, are considered obese. This statistic has tripled over a 30 year period beginning in the mid 1970s (CDC). The greatest concern for children in this category is the risk for coronary heart disease from the consumption of trans fats (CDC). The life long affects of obesity are one main reason the federal government has recently adopted changes to the National School Lunch Program nutritional requirements.
Trans fats were created by scientist to replace the saturated fats found in some processed foods; they are commonly used to prolong the shelf life of foods (CDC). The fact is the consumption of artificial trans fats affects cholesterol levels negatively and increases the risk for heart disease (CDC). The National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program serve a combined 40 million or more meals per day to students nationwide (CDC).
The risk of heart disease is not the only...
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Salk Institute. "How Obesity Increases The Risk For Diabetes." ScienceDaily, 21 Jun. 2009. Web. 28 Mar. 2012.
“Schwan’s Food Service, Inc. Redefines School Pizza, Offering Healthier Choices for Children in More Than 72,000 U.S. Schools” Businesswire. businesswire.com. 7 Mar. 2011. Web. 29 Feb. 2012.
Simon, G.E., et al. “Obesity, depression, and health services costs among middle-aged women.” nih.gov, 28 Jun. 2011. Web. 28 Mar. 2012.
United States Department of Agriculture. “Notices”. usda.gov, 25 Mar. 2011. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. < http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-03-23/pdf/2012-7036.pdf>
We must do something about fast food products, to stop from affecting children and leading them to obesity. Is what reflect David Barboza’s article “If You Pitch It, They Will Eat.” School’s, Parent’s, Policy Makers, etc… Should take the lead in this action, by reducing many unhealthy food products from school’s, store’s, and place’s close to home.
Childhood onset overweight and obesity and its’ associated health consequences are quickly becoming major significant public health issues facing America today. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define overweight as a body mass index (BMI) between the 85th and 95th percentile while obese is defined as BMI above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex . The prevalence of overweight children, defined based on 2009 CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics data, has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Between 1980 and 2006, the incidence of overweight among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% to 17.0% while overweight levels for adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 17.6% . Not only has prevalence of child and adolescent overweight and obesity increased dramatically over the last several decades, but being an overweight or obese child puts one at a heightened risk for adult overweight and obesity .
Goldstein, Hesh. Why There is an Obesity Epidemic. 16 Nov. 2009. 12 Nov. 2011 .
Government date shows that in the past thirty years, rate of being overweight in six to eleven year olds is up 19% and 6% in age 12 to 19. Without support, school lunches remain high in fat. (Finkelstien) According to the CDCP, obesity is double what it was in children and triple in adolescents since 1980. Many reforms were attempted to help this problem, but many inadvertently caused more problems. (Finkelstien) A 730 calorie lunch should have no more than 24 grams of fat and no more than 8 grams of it saturated yet the average USDA lunch has 31 grams of fat and 14 rams of it is saturated. (Yeoman) These very high levels of fat are why obesity is becoming worse in children. It can be concluded that school food is still extremely high in fat and this can be directly linked to the high rates of obesity in young children and
Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director. Causes and Risks for Obesity. 1August 2012. Medline Plus. 6 December 2013. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000383.htm
About nine million children are obese among those who are more than six years of age. (Alderman, Jess, et al.) In order to diagnose a child with obesity, one must calculate the child’s body mass index(BMI). The child’s BMI, which is factored by weight and height, is compared with children of the same sex and age across the country on a specific chart. A child is considered obese if they have a BMI higher than 95% of the population. Since 1980, the amount of overweight children has multiplied, and among adolescents, the number has nearly tripled which will most surely increase the likelihood of health problems leading in adolescents and into adulthood. Children are "gaining weight to a dangerous degree and at an alarming rate" regardless of gender, race, socioeconomic status, or geographic location...
Flegal, K. M., Carroll, M. D., Ogden, C. L., & Curtin, L. R. (2010). Prevalence and trends in obesity among U.S. adults, 1999-2008. Journal of Medical Association. 303, 235-241.
It is apparent that living an unhealthy lifestyle, as well as eating poorly, negatively affects one’s health. From a young age it is quickly learned which foods are considered healthful as opposed to junk food. It is a parents responsibility to supervise the intake of their child's food, however there is a higher risk than ever before of childhood obesity.
Today, approximately 25 percent of children and teenagers are obese and the number is on the rise. Since the 1960’s childhood obesity has increased by 54 percent in children ages six to eleven. In children twelve to seventeen it has increased by 39 percent. (Silberstein, 1) Childhood obesity is so prevalent among these age groups that it has reached epidemic proportions.
8. Allison B.D. et al (1999) Annual Deaths Attributable to Obesity in the U.S. (Reprinted) JAMA, October 27, 1999 Vol. 282, No. 16.
Childhood obesity has already reduced the average life expectancy between four and nine months. “[T]oday’s generation will have shorter and less healthy lives than their parents for the first time in modern history,” warned S. Jay Olshansky, the University of Illinois researcher and author of the study (1). In 2004, the US Center for Disease Control found that at least 66% of adults were overweight or obese—double the percentage in 1980—and that more than 1/6 th of kids ages 2-19 were overweight. Type II diabetes, usually caused by an unhealthy lifestyle rather than genetics, has increased as a side effect of obesity and heart disease is also on the rise. In short, obesity is a national epidemic.
Levine, James. "Poverty and Obesity in the U.S." Diabetes 60.11 (2011): 2667-2668. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) about “17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years are obese” (Moreno et al., 2013 P.157). “Surveys administered in 1976-1980 and 2007-2008 show that the prevalence of obesity has changed from 6.5% to 19.6% among children 6-11 years old age and from 5.0% to 18.1% for those aged 12-19 years (Moreno et al., 2013 P.157).
Moreover, the controversy over cafeteria food is whether or not it is healthy for all students from elementary schools to colleges. Numerous factors lead to unhealthy eating in schools and on campuses. Sometimes options with better nutrition are offered, but when there are, they tend to be less appealing than the unhealthy foods which turns to obesity. Many schools are undergoing budget cuts and changes, and healthy food tends to take a back burner when deciding where the limited amounts of money should go (Gupta). Unfortunately, when schools do have healthy ingredients, the food is usually prep...
Zeratsky, Katherine. "Diseases and Conditions." Normal Weight Obesity: A Hidden Health Risk? N.p., 5 Aug. 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.