Obesity In Schools

As fatigued teens flow into the front doors of the modern American high school, the cafeteria quickly floods as students hope to grab breakfast before the bell rings. The line grows longer as more students enter the school, all awaiting to purchase a snack that will determine their readiness and alertness for the remainder of the day. Craving quick energy to jump start their morning, some students gravitate towards the fruit and vegetable aisle, while the majority lean towards the more appealing, dessert aisle. With child obesity rates increasing every year throughout the United States, many believe the choice to consume junk foods in schools lies with the students and their parents, and that the sale of these foods funds extra-curricular …show more content…
In pursuit of promoting healthy eating habits and fighting child obesity, Northeast High School offers students nutritious entrées and vegetables on the school menu and has even been credited with a significant decline in student obesity rates, attracting more students for enrollment (Seidl). With the sale and consumption of junk food diminished around campus, schools such as Northeast have not only succeeded in lowering the student obesity rate, but they have also succeeded in transforming the lives of their students addicted to junk foods, allowing them to live healthier lifestyles under the values of a nutritional diet. The detrimental effects of junk foods have even inspired families to enroll in schools in support of well-balanced school lunches, allowing for more and more students to motivate each other in the process of leading a healthier lifestyle. As Johnson counters the idea of banning junk food in schools, she states that “providing attractive alternatives can help ensure that students maintain adequate caloric intake, which will in turn help enhance their attention and performance in class” as junk food “provides quick energy, substitutes for missed meals, and supplements inadequate meals” (Johnson). …show more content…
Along with physical exercise and maintaining a healthy diet, it is also important to recognize that nutritious food is also crucial to maintaining such a robust regimen, and that the consequences of poor nutrition and a lack of exercise may result in Type II diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension in obese children (Klobuchar). The risk of deadly diseases in children with non-nutritional diets is much higher compared to those with healthier diets, not to mention the rapid increase in child obesity rates that tag along with them. The importance of nutritional foods in schools becomes even more imperative as the dangers of death circle our youth, getting closer and closer until it is too late to act against the disease that is junk food. As school curriculums are becoming more and more challenging in our developing nation, the importance of achieving academic excellence at an early age is more and important now than ever and “several studies have shown that a good breakfast can result in better academic performance in the classroom and higher standardized test scores in math, reading, and vocabulary” (Greene). The growing hunger to achieve academic excellence in today’s