Childhood Obesity: Schools Try Adding Healthier Foods To Menus

Childhood Obesity: Schools Try Adding Healthier Foods To Menus in General Healthcare

Obesity is now a health condition that is considered by most experts and physicians to be an epidemic. Being overweight doesn’t just hurt your health — it can drastically lower your chances of getting health insurance.

Over the past couple decades, the number of overweight and obese Americans has more than tripled. Today, 64 percent of American adults are obese or overweight, according to the Obesity Society.

The number of obese children has doubled, reported the Washington Post in a series on the topic.

For many, obesity starts at a young age.

Obesity during childhood is particularly troubling because it has been shown to be much more harmful for developing children. It can affect just about everything from their metabolism to their self-esteem.

“Being excessively heavy could distort [the] natural process of growth and development in ways that irreversibly affect the biological pathways,“ said David S. Ludwig, of Boston’s Children’s Hospital.

That includes more serious conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and even cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC also found that both boys’ and girls’ average weights are up 11 pounds as of 2002 compared to 1963.

Acting U.S. Surgeon General Steven Galson called childhood obesity a “national catastrophe,” reported the Post.

So what’s causing the childhood obesity epidemic? One easy culprit to identify is unhealthy food choices in schools. To combat the problem in the cafeteria, some schools are limiting the amount of unhealthy choices and replacing or adding healthier options — such as salads, fruits, and low-fat yogurt.

“If it were only a cupcake once a month, if it were only the snacks at after-care… It’s just that it all adds up to so much junk food, which then adds up to childhood obesity,” explained Margo Wootan, who is the nutrition policy director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Many school cafeterias are getting rid of deep-fryers or switching to healthier, trans-fat free oils. Soda and pop vending machines are also on the chopping block — being replaced by machines with healthier options such as water, 100 percent fruit juices, and skim milk.

Some even blame children’s parents for making unhealthy choices.

“It’s not just schools. We all need to be active players in this game in order to win,” said Penny McConnell, the food services director for Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia.

But not everyone agrees that unhealthy foods should be taken out of schools, wrote the Post. Critics argue that school boards and lawmakers shouldn’t decide what foods people can have, it should be up to them.

Still, there’s no doubt childhood obesity is a serious problem.

“This is a wave that is just moving through the population,” said CDC director William H. Dietz.

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