Elementary School Obesity
“The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012.” (Childhood Obesity). This is a significant increase in obese children and many people do not know why its increasing. While obesity continues to grow, people are looking for someone to blame. Some say its the government, schools, food board, parents, nutritionist, or even the children themselves. Parents and schools have the most significant amount of responsibility because they are with the children throughout the day. It is clear that the parents and schools are responsible for the obesity in elementary school children.
To begin, parents are a tremendous reason for why obesity in elementary school children has risen. Parents have many different ways of feeding their children whether it be by fast food, school lunch, or pre-packed lunch. Consequently, the way parents choose to feed their children affects them directly and can lead to obesity at a young age. Thus, packing lunch for children is the best way to prevent obesity. According to parent, Tami Niccum, “Packing healthy food in a child 's lunch keeps them healthy …show more content…
Schools are also responsible for teaching children nutrition so they can make healthy choices by themselves. Tami Niccum says, “ I believe school gardens are a good way to teach kids food nutrition and how to grow healthy food”. If schools had gardens where they could teach about food nutrition and how to tend the garden, then children can learn to eat healthier. Many schools like to sell unhealthy food options on campus to gain some extra money which they say they need. Although, they might need the money, they do not need to sell junk food to raise funds. Consequently, if schools do not teach and provide children with healthy choices of food then they will never learn to eat
“The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012.” (Childhood Obesity). This is a significant increase in obese children and many people do not know why its increasing. While obesity continues to grow, people are looking for someone to blame. Some say its the government, schools, food board, parents, nutritionist, or even the children themselves. Parents and schools have the most significant amount of responsibility because they are with the children throughout the day. It is clear that the parents and schools are responsible for the obesity in elementary school children.
To begin, parents are a tremendous reason for why obesity in elementary school children has risen. Parents have many different ways of feeding their children whether it be by fast food, school lunch, or pre-packed lunch. Consequently, the way parents choose to feed their children affects them directly and can lead to obesity at a young age. Thus, packing lunch for children is the best way to prevent obesity. According to parent, Tami Niccum, “Packing healthy food in a child 's lunch keeps them healthy …show more content…
Schools are also responsible for teaching children nutrition so they can make healthy choices by themselves. Tami Niccum says, “ I believe school gardens are a good way to teach kids food nutrition and how to grow healthy food”. If schools had gardens where they could teach about food nutrition and how to tend the garden, then children can learn to eat healthier. Many schools like to sell unhealthy food options on campus to gain some extra money which they say they need. Although, they might need the money, they do not need to sell junk food to raise funds. Consequently, if schools do not teach and provide children with healthy choices of food then they will never learn to eat