SHOULD REFINED WHITE SUGAR AND HIGH FRUCTOSE SUGAR PRODUCTS BE REMOVED FORM SCHOOL VENDING AND FOOD SERVICE PROGRAMS?

1809 Words4 Pages

"Childhood obesity, it's our tsunami, it's our Katrina." (Sanders-Butler). Childhood obesity has become a key problem in American society. More children are obese in the United States than any other country in the world. Part of the problem is the vast amount of fats and sugars in American diets. A larger portion of the health problem is the amount of sugar ingested daily in various foods. Schools all over the country are stocking their vending machines with junk food full of white refined sugar. For these, and many other reasons, high fructose and white refined sugar must be removed of school lunches and or vending machines.

In the United States, approximately twenty thousand vending machines are in use in schools. It is estimated that more than half of those machines are currently selling snacks and beverages that are overflowing with white refined sugar. White refined sugar is raw sugar that is processed with different acids to give it the white color that sugar is known for. White refined sugar is nearly a drug. It is addictive and in large amounts is awful for the human body. There is variety of health problems that are to be concerned with when people consume vast amounts of sugar. One of the most important health problems in American society is obesity, but even more important is childhood obesity. The number of children obese in the United States has more than tripled in the last 20 years. Children consume up to 4 lbs of sugar a week. This number has more than doubled since the late 1800’s and into the 1900’s when the average person only ate about 5 lbs a year. Part of the reason this number is so high is because the junk food does not stop at home. It continues at school when children buy school lu...

... middle of paper ...

...

19. PepsiCo Yanking Sugar From Schools Worldwide. 16 March 2010. Associated Press. 27 January 2011.

20. School Vending Machines “ Dispensing junk”. 2004. Center for Science in the Public Interest. 24 January 2011. < http://www.cspinet.org/new/200405111.html >

21. School Vending Machines. 8 February 9, 2010. North Idaho Farmers. 24 January 2011.

22. Sugar - Its Effects On The Body & Mind. 1998-2010. Macrobiotics Guide. 21 January 2011. < http://macrobiotics.co.uk/sugar.htm >

23. Sugars Effect On Your Health. 2007. Healing Daily. 21 January 2011 < http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/sugar.htm>

More about SHOULD REFINED WHITE SUGAR AND HIGH FRUCTOSE SUGAR PRODUCTS BE REMOVED FORM SCHOOL VENDING AND FOOD SERVICE PROGRAMS?

Open Document