Obesity in Adolescents Due to Inadequate Nutrition

In the United States, the percentage of children and adolescents affected by obesity has more than tripled since the 1970s. One in five American students struggle with obesity. Some credited individuals say that the length of lunch periods correlates with unhealthy eating. Although some children may not eat it, schools should not supply unhealthy foods to students because healthy foods create healthy eating habits, better academic performance, cost less and unhealthy foods can cause obesity and social issues.

Those who argue for unhealthy foods in schools proclaim that healthy foods are too expensive; on the other hand, healthier school lunches promote healthier life time eating habits and improve academic performances.

As the article “Reasons For Healthier School Lunches,” analyzes “When you do something for a long period of time, it eventually becomes a habit. This is true for students as well. Being provided healthy lunches at school while growing up can help build good eating habits for the future”. I concur with the author of the article, anything habit forming in a healthy way is great.

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If the public school systems started doing anything that makes sense we would be more blessed for it. With the obesity epidemic in the united states, anything that can help people create better eating habits would be beneficial.

The earlier a person creates these habits, the more impact it will have on the quality of their life. Therefore implementing these changes in grade school aged children makes the most sense. According to a article based on “The Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act”, by Paulette Parker “Data from nearly 9,700 elementary, middle and high schools found students at schools with meals that scored higher for nutritional value had an increased performance between .

03 and .04 standard deviations”. Studies have shown, and I have personally experienced, creating habits through the application of healthier school lunches creates healthier students and also ones that are more prone to learn. This article emphasized the importance of healthy lunches at schools by listing how healthy foods increased academic performances in just about every way. Just the fact that healthy food can increase test scores is reason enough to implement healthier school lunches, but they also promote healthy eating habits.

Even though healthy foods may not always taste as good as unhealthy ones, Healthier school lunches do cost less. A San Antonio-led national study of 42 middle schools across the country found that “two years ago, better cafeteria offerings and improved physical education could reduce obesity rates for children at highest risk of diabetes. Revenue and expense data were collected from income statements, federal meal records, à la carte sale sheets, school store sale sheets, donated money/food records, and vending machines”. The “HEALTHY”, study focused on middle schools in low-income neighborhoods across the country, where at least half the students were eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Half the schools had to meet nutritional goals that included reducing fat, offering more fruits and vegetables, and eliminating high-calorie desserts and sugared beverages.

The other schools did not. In the end, those schools offering healthier meals saw an average profit of $3.5 million over the three-year study, those that didn't had a profit of $2.4 million. So far while doing all of my research and writing this essay I’ve noticed a trend where the only negative effects of healthier school lunches is how expensive they are and that it tastes bad, however; it seems that they were wrong. Healthy school lunches in middle schools are in fact cheaper than unhealthy ones. An article named “Study shows healthy school lunches don't cost more,” States “schools offering healthier meals saw an average profit of $3.5 million over the three-year study, while those that didn't had a profit of $2.4 million”. Many haven't put the effort into checking their facts and created a false belief that healthy school lunches cost extremely too much. Healthy school lunches are just one easy way to not only save money for other necessities, but also help create healthier lifetime habits which can potentially prevent obesity and diseases such as depression. Public school districts should want what is best for their students, but schools repeatedly serve fatty foods contributing to America’s obesity scourge.

Some believe that children should be able to choose between healthy and unhealthy lunches, however, children with obesity are bullied and teased more than their normal weight peers and are more likely to suffer from social isolation, depression, lower self-esteem, and bullying. Sherri Gordon writes about obese children getting bullied in the article “How Obesity And Bullying Are Connected”, Stating “44.4 percent of severely obese children experienced name-calling compared to only 10.1 percent of normal weight children and 20.6 percent of overweight kids. 21 percent of severely obese children experienced physical victimization compared to only 5.4 percent of normal weight children and 8.7 percent of overweight kids. 18.5 percent of severely obese children were excluded from group activities compared to only 5.4 percent of normal weight children and 10.4 percent of overweight kids”. The author of this article illustrates the facts about obese children and how badly they are bullied.

People, especially children, have a tendency for destructive behavior. Social standards have formed a society where bullies thrive, and victims acquire health conditions in response to being bullied. Obese children get bullied more than their average weight peers in many ways that could impact the successfulness of their in school career. One magnificent way to combat child obesity is healthier school lunches. According to the article “Obesity and Depression”, based on a study constructed by the Depression Center “childhood obesity frequently leads to painful ridicule and exclusion from peer activities. Problems with body image, social isolation and self-esteem might easily follow. Being seriously overweight at any age is a major source of dissatisfaction, sadness and frustration. Extra pounds often cause chronic joint and extremity pain, making individuals less able to get around”. A lot of people deal with eating as a coping mechanism for their depression, which can compound the problem. Some people are bullied because they're overweight, and some people are overweight because they’re bullied. Obesity is a vicious cycle; Eat food, gain weight, get bullied, get depressed, exercise less, eat food, gain weight, e.t.c. Although Arizona specifically has a very flawed education system with the state ranking low in the nation for testing scores, something as simple as healthier school lunches would be a great start to fixing it.

Schools should not only stop serving unhealthy foods, but they should serve healthy ones instead. There are no negative effects of healthy school lunches other than stupid things like “children won’t eat them” or “healthy foods taste bad”, there aren’t any hard facts on why school lunches shouldn’t be healthy. Healthy school lunches fight obesity, create healthy habits, improve academic performance, cost less, and so so much more. Honestly, there aren’t any excuses for why the “higher ups” haven’t made the change. Obesity is no joke, we need to fight it together as a nation.