Badin vs. Versailles
Law Enforcement Memorial Day
American Idol 2012 finale
Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2005 > October > 10 > Entry
Losing your (unhealthy) lunch
None other than the Terminator is taking on unhealthy student lunches.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last month signed a bill that banned junk food and soft drinks in public schools. And last week the Washington Post had a story about the trend toward healthier lunches.
The amount of junk food readily available to our kids has really gotten out of hand.
On Saturday, all three of my kids played youth soccer. Each parent on each team is assigned a day to bring “snack” for after the game. I think oranges or bananas would be a great post-game snack, but the more common treats are Gatorade and cookies.
This just seems to defeat the purpose of exercise. What’s the point of having the kids run around for an hour just to have them replace all the calories they burned an more with the post-game snack?
And school lunchrooms are no better. These days kids commonly eat chips and soft drinks for lunch. Meanwhile, the days of gym class (and exercise) five days a week are largely gone. What remaining gym there is, some school leaders and parents are fighting against. They don’t want kids wasting instruction time in gym. It’s not unusual for kids to take gym in the summer or get a waiver if they are on a sports team.
These are some of the reasons kids are so overweight and unhealthy.
So the move toward healthier lunch, at least, is a welcome change for many. As an anti-carb, Atkins lover, I’m not sure the sugary fruit juices and sports drinks allowed even under these new rules are much better than soft drinks, but hey, at least they’re trying.
Do you think its time more states took control of school lunch nutrition?
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Sports and Athletics
Comments
By Denise
October 11, 2005 10:03 AM | Link to this
No, I don’t think the state needs to get more involved than it already is. If I remember correctly, schools that receive federal lunch funding have to provide a certain level of nutrition to the students, and have to encourage the students to make nutritious choices. I also believe there are guidelines in place on the state level. The problem is not in how much or how little guidance is given by the government, or even by the school, but lies in the reinforcement of good nutrition habits at home. Parents are much to quick to resort to fast food dinners several nights a week, typically claiming they don’t have time to make a nutritious dinner at home. I don’t buy it. I know for a fact that there are plenty of quick, healthy, and tasty dinner recipes out there (and oftentimes they are relatively cheap too). In the time it takes to stop at the drive thru, a person could be at home making dinner while talking to their kids, helping them with homework, spending time with them, while also teaching them about the importance of good nutrition. What good does it do for the state to enforce tougher standards when the lessons are not being reinforced at home? I see it every day – we have so many nutritious options for our school lunches (entrée, side dishes, pasta/deli bar, salad bar, soups) but the kids (especially the younger ones) eat the same thing every day (pasta or pb&j). And the main reason I hear when they are asked why that is all they will eat is that they don’t like the food that is being offered. Is it that they don’t like it? Or that they don’t want to try new things? They likely are not encouraged to do that at home, so why do it at school where there is no one to force them to do it?