Banning Soda: All or Nothing
The United States believes soda is crippling children’s health, causing school officials to ban the sale of these sugary drinks from schools. According to the National Institute of diabetes and digestive and Kidney Diseases, 1 in 6 children in America are considered obese. Although soda causes health problems, such as diabetes and obesity, banning soda from schools will not improve children’s overall health. Soda is not the primary culprit of childhood obesity or diabetes; the foods available in schools are equally as detrimental to kid’s health. In that case, school officials should reform the food as well. Schools should make resources available to educate our kids on clean eating, as proper information would …show more content…
Parents may not be fully educated on diseases and complications due to poor eating habits. Holding healthy living and eating workshops will greatly help students be aware of a healthier alternative to fried foods or sugary drinks. They should be taught how to read nutritional facts and comprehend the daily values of vitamins and fats we need each day. If a child has an intense basketball game or lots of outside play, they would know indulging in an extra cupcake or a soda is okay. If the child has been lazy playing video games, he/she should be aware that he/she has not burned any calories, so a soda may not be the best idea; they may want to opt for a water. In the same way, parents should also be educated about nutrition. Most parents are not nutritionists and do not always have the correct information needed to teach their kids healthy eating. It is important to keep in mind how parents were raised and how that influences their food choices. For example, my parents grew up in a time where their parents ordered them to finish everything on their plates and if they didn’t, they would not get dessert. They brought my sisters and me up the same way. I’ve always attributed this mentality of finishing all of dinner to the grandparents who lived through the Great Depression when there was not very much food at all, so now they think the more the better! Consequently, this frame of mind has continued to be passed down …show more content…
Taking away soda from schools does not depreciate the amount of soda and sugary drinks consumed. The University of Illinois Chicago conducted a recent study exhibiting obesity rates in schools that sold soda and schools that did not. The study showed each school still retained the same starting obesity rate of 22%. The National Institutes of Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that even though children did not have access to the soda at school, they still consumed the same amount of sugar, implying the bans were not working. Taking the sodas away means that children will try to compensate for the sugar they are used to having. Children will replace sodas with sports drinks sold in schools, which also have unnecessary amounts of sugar and sodium. Banning soda may even increase the amount of soda ingested, due to overcompensation. Without their normal soda in schools, kids will therefore go to fast food restaurants or convenience stores to get their fix. By doing this, kids will more than likely buy something else unhealthy along with a soda that is five times the size of the one they would have purchased at
The United States believes soda is crippling children’s health, causing school officials to ban the sale of these sugary drinks from schools. According to the National Institute of diabetes and digestive and Kidney Diseases, 1 in 6 children in America are considered obese. Although soda causes health problems, such as diabetes and obesity, banning soda from schools will not improve children’s overall health. Soda is not the primary culprit of childhood obesity or diabetes; the foods available in schools are equally as detrimental to kid’s health. In that case, school officials should reform the food as well. Schools should make resources available to educate our kids on clean eating, as proper information would …show more content…
Parents may not be fully educated on diseases and complications due to poor eating habits. Holding healthy living and eating workshops will greatly help students be aware of a healthier alternative to fried foods or sugary drinks. They should be taught how to read nutritional facts and comprehend the daily values of vitamins and fats we need each day. If a child has an intense basketball game or lots of outside play, they would know indulging in an extra cupcake or a soda is okay. If the child has been lazy playing video games, he/she should be aware that he/she has not burned any calories, so a soda may not be the best idea; they may want to opt for a water. In the same way, parents should also be educated about nutrition. Most parents are not nutritionists and do not always have the correct information needed to teach their kids healthy eating. It is important to keep in mind how parents were raised and how that influences their food choices. For example, my parents grew up in a time where their parents ordered them to finish everything on their plates and if they didn’t, they would not get dessert. They brought my sisters and me up the same way. I’ve always attributed this mentality of finishing all of dinner to the grandparents who lived through the Great Depression when there was not very much food at all, so now they think the more the better! Consequently, this frame of mind has continued to be passed down …show more content…
Taking away soda from schools does not depreciate the amount of soda and sugary drinks consumed. The University of Illinois Chicago conducted a recent study exhibiting obesity rates in schools that sold soda and schools that did not. The study showed each school still retained the same starting obesity rate of 22%. The National Institutes of Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that even though children did not have access to the soda at school, they still consumed the same amount of sugar, implying the bans were not working. Taking the sodas away means that children will try to compensate for the sugar they are used to having. Children will replace sodas with sports drinks sold in schools, which also have unnecessary amounts of sugar and sodium. Banning soda may even increase the amount of soda ingested, due to overcompensation. Without their normal soda in schools, kids will therefore go to fast food restaurants or convenience stores to get their fix. By doing this, kids will more than likely buy something else unhealthy along with a soda that is five times the size of the one they would have purchased at