In the last twenty years, obesity has steadily climbed the ranks to become one of the biggest health issues in America. In 2007, it affected roughly 17% of the population of children and teens in the United States (Bell et al. 42). The effects are numerous and include both physical and mental problems. We have reached a point where it has been referred to as an epidemic, and threatens to reduce our previously increasing life span if left unaddressed (Goldsmith 21). A child who is raised with poor habits and struggles to control their weight is more likely to continue having issues throughout their life (Ries 30). Habits are hard to break. Advertisements may focus on helping you lose weight, but the better solution long term is to focus on
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Even while I was in school, I watched the time we spent at recess dwindle. Sometimes it was taken away entirely as a punishment for a handful of people acting up. Less than 10% of schools are providing the weekly recommended amount of activity, and only 40% of middle schoolers participate in an organized sport (Goldsmith 21). With parents often working until the sun goes down, many kids are told to stay inside for safety reasons. They have no way of getting to an afterschool activity like gymnastics or dance, and are instructed to not even ride their bike around the neighborhood. While I understand the concern on the parents’ end, this isn’t helping. Indoor exercise equipment is not fun, and kids locked inside are likely going to watch television, which I can’t blame them …show more content…
The classic lunch of peanut butter and jelly on white bread is actually far from healthy, and closer to a dessert than a balanced lunch. School lunches tend to go along with that trend. Vending machines, soda, and processed foods are common. Fruit, vegetables, and truly fresh foods are rarely seen in your average cafeteria. On top of this, our serving sizes are inflated far beyond what we really need. A serving of pasta is half of a cup, which looks roughly like half of a baseball (Goldsmith 23). It’s rare that we eat pasta in that amount. A serving of peanut butter is the size of a ping pong ball (Goldsmith 23). It doesn’t help that we sometimes force our kids to eat once they’re no longer hungry by saying they need to clean their plate for dessert (Goldsmith
Even while I was in school, I watched the time we spent at recess dwindle. Sometimes it was taken away entirely as a punishment for a handful of people acting up. Less than 10% of schools are providing the weekly recommended amount of activity, and only 40% of middle schoolers participate in an organized sport (Goldsmith 21). With parents often working until the sun goes down, many kids are told to stay inside for safety reasons. They have no way of getting to an afterschool activity like gymnastics or dance, and are instructed to not even ride their bike around the neighborhood. While I understand the concern on the parents’ end, this isn’t helping. Indoor exercise equipment is not fun, and kids locked inside are likely going to watch television, which I can’t blame them …show more content…
The classic lunch of peanut butter and jelly on white bread is actually far from healthy, and closer to a dessert than a balanced lunch. School lunches tend to go along with that trend. Vending machines, soda, and processed foods are common. Fruit, vegetables, and truly fresh foods are rarely seen in your average cafeteria. On top of this, our serving sizes are inflated far beyond what we really need. A serving of pasta is half of a cup, which looks roughly like half of a baseball (Goldsmith 23). It’s rare that we eat pasta in that amount. A serving of peanut butter is the size of a ping pong ball (Goldsmith 23). It doesn’t help that we sometimes force our kids to eat once they’re no longer hungry by saying they need to clean their plate for dessert (Goldsmith