School Lunches: Encouraging Proper Nutrition

Not only are all of the food groups being monitored, but the fat content of meals is also being closely censored. The current regulation is that school lunches must have fewer than 10% of their calories from saturated fats; this has not changed from the previous standard (“Comparison of Previous and Current”). Heart disease, heart attack, and stroke are risks of too many saturated fats and the high cholesterol that results from the fats (Moss 214). Saturated fats have also been linked to Type II diabetes (Moss 214). It makes sense that school lunches only have limited amounts of saturated fats; this way, the chance of students suffering from these health risks are lower. To prevent these problems may be difficult, but avoiding saturated fats in school lunches is a smart strategy. Another type of fat, called trans-fat, is not allowed in school lunches at all; this is very different to the past when there was no limit on trans-fat (“Comparison of Previous and Current”). Trans-fats are often put into foods because it does not cost a lot and can make foods last longer (“Trans Fat”). The problem with this type of fat is that it leads to high cholesterol and can eventually lead to coronary heart disease and even death (“Trans Fat”).

To avoid this type of fat at a young age is a proactive move because it can help avoid disease and can lead to a longer, healthier life. As a general standard, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests that less than 30% of the calories in a school meal come from any type of fat; schools are required to follow this guideline (Poppendieck 111). Fats are not being eliminated from student diets completely, but the consumption is being monitored because of the negative consequences that can result ...

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...rition, but it is up to the students to take the foods offered and actually consume the proper nutrients. School lunches that abide by the National School Lunch Program guidelines encourage proper nutrition for students because they contain numerous fruits and vegetables, whole grains and meat or meat alternates, low-fat dairy and water, limited amounts of fat, limited sodium, appropriate portion sizes, and healthy calorie amounts. Schools are still able to offer many of the foods they offered in the past; the catch is that they must follow the updated nutritional guidelines of the National School Lunch Program. In conclusion, those slices of pizza, cheeseburgers, chicken strips, chocolate milk, French fries, chocolate chip cookies, and spaghetti, which are served to students for school lunch all around the nation, may not be so bad for students’ health after all.