School Factor

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            The next area numerous amounts of people hold responsible for childhood obesity is schools. Children spend a significant amount of time at school and eat lunch there everyday. This is why people feel the foods found at schools and the amount of exercise throughout the school day should be regulated. From a scholarly article speaking about childhood obesity, “And the next battleground in the war against this growing health epidemic may be over a school lunch” (“Obesity; Rise in Childhood Obesity has Raised Concerns about School Lunch Nutrition”). This shows that the growing rate of childhood obesity may be traced back to schools. Officials need to take a deeper look into what may be one of the foundations for childhood obesity.

            The main concern of health officials at schools are the school lunches. Many feel that the school lunches are not nutritionally sound. Others feel that schools do offer healthy menu items, children just don’t choose to buy them. In a recent survey of middle school students fifty-two percent of children stated their opinion that their school doesn’t offer healthy foods for lunch (“Childhood Obesity in Northern Colorado”). This poll proves that although schools may offer nutritional foods kids may not even realize it. While at the same school the kitchen production manager explains that, “We have state guidelines that we go by for calories and nutrients that are in recipes and I do feel like we serve the students a nutritious healthy meal” (Morrison). While our schools are serving nutritious meals they just may be hidden behind the more tempting unhealthy foods offered, such as, pizza, cookies, and cheese bread. Unhealthy foods may have to be eliminated from schools altogether in order to properly promote the nutritious ones.

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            Another worry within schools is the lack of physical education programs. Although it may not seem like the classes contribute much, physical education programs are the main way for our youth to exercise and burn calories throughout the day. It is becoming a problem, Janice Crouse reasons, because “Many schools have eliminated recess and physical education from the school day.” When this happens many students are still consuming several calories but they are no longer being burned off, causing weight gain. At our local school, physical education teacher Gary Mauch clarifies that he and the other teachers implement many fitness activities and stress the importance of overall physical fitness and health. Various people believe that schools should expand the amount of exercise students receive at school. Others feel that we can increase the exercise at school by introducing students to new lifetime sports that every child can play and stay fit while doing.  This in turn will slow and possibly stop childhood obesity into adulthood.