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Emma Henderson

English 1201

Professor Hunter

3 November 2019

Childhood Obesity

Almost all adults can remember a child from their childhood who was ridiculed

and singled out as “the fat kid.” For some people, the ridicule seems to motivate them

and spur them on to leaving behind their childhood identity of being overweight. For

others, the teasing and bullying that often happens tears down their self-esteem and

they withdraw and end up plagued by worsening health issues. Many become more

and more overweight, while others end up fighting eating disorders and body image

issues. When I was a child, I moved frequently from one school to another because my

father was in the Air Force. I experienced many approaches to health and fitness in the

various schools I attended. While I enjoyed access to candy and soda that some

schools offered, I remember recognizing the difference when I attended a school which

was making specific efforts to involve kids in meal planning, meal preparation and meal

selection. I remember realizing that I enjoyed access to the salad bar and that I enjoyed

choosing fruit for a snack later in the school day. The school addressed health as a

community effort, generating enthusiasm from students and staff alike. Even though I

moved after only one year of attendance, I carried with me the attitudes and habits I

learned at that school. In later years, I attended schools that had few options for meals,
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and even fewer that were healthy and full of whole foods. Processed foods and empty

calories dominated the available meals, and vending machines provided the primary

dietary options for many of my fellow students. I quickly realized that more students

were obese and most had no interest in healthy eating or exercise.

The power which schools have to influence their students in ways beyond

academics is not to be ignored. Childhood obesity is an ever growing epidemic in our

nation and the physical and mental ramifications are devastating, both to individual

children, and to our nation as a whole. Because childhood obesity has reached epic

proportions in America and many children suffer with health problems such as diabetes,

high blood pressure, and dangerous cholesterol levels, public school systems must

eliminate empty sugar filled options in vending machines and cafeterias, offer healthy

student approved menus in lunchrooms, and emphasize healthy lifestyle choices and

physical activity across all subject areas. Schools should strive to actively involve

students in meal choices and train staff, including teachers and school nurses, to

address the physical well being of students on a regular basis. School staff have an

opportunity to influence children for the majority of their waking hours while they are in

school. Although their academic success is the primary concern, they must make the

children’s health, fitness and well-being of equal importance.

Some of the largest contributors of excess sugar and calories in schools are

processed foods in vending machines. Vending machines in schools have also long

been a source of sugary drinks which are, of course, very popular with students. Studies

show that the habit of drinking soda typically begins in childhood. Higher intake of

sugar filled drinks has been linked to the development of type 2 diabetes. U.S. News
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and World Report cites statistics that show that seven percent of children in the U.S.

were obese in 1980. By 2008, the amount had increased to twenty percent (Chan).

Children who become obese when young are at most risk for medical conditions such

as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Soda has been at the top of the list of

products which raise the risk for weight gain. According to recent studies at Harvard

School of Public Health, people who consume a significant amount of sugar-sweetened

beverages are 20 percent more likely to eventually be diagnosed with heart disease

(Chan). Research shows that high sugar drinks are becoming somewhat less available

in elementary schools in America, but there is still a long way to go to eliminate their

availability in all schools. This change should be at the top of the list for public schools.

Not only do vending machines offer soda, but also quick snacks lacking in

nutritional value. In a series of articles, Kendra Marr, a staff reporter for the Washington

Post, examined the epidemic of childhood obesity facing America. This article was

overseen by Jim Baugh, a pediatrician that claimed the environment is the primary

problem in the vast majority of cases of childhood obesity. School food options were

examined, particularly vending machines. The author observed activity around the

hallway vending machines in Washington D.C. suburb public high school. A calculated

total of 21,000 calories were consumed by students at one machine alone before lunch

time even arrived. In her articles, she makes the argument that the calories were

primarily empty and unhealthy, but appealing to teens because of their constant

availability, low cost and popular flavors. The teens claimed that the vending machines

offered constant options, while the cafeteria was only open for certain hours. While the

students liked some items offered in the cafeteria, they often found they could more
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easily afford the vending machine options. Finally, much of the food offered in the lunch

room included ingredients and recipes which the students found unpalatable. The staff

at the school recognized the problem, but the principal claimed that changes would

have to be made slowly. If fruit and healthy options were suddenly all that the students

found in the vending machines, they would likely choose not to make purchases. For

some, the vending machines offered the only food they ate in the mornings and the only

means of having energy to concentrate. While a serious problem obviously faced the

school, the solutions were not simple ones. Nutrition and health awareness must be

supported at home for optimal success, but measures taken at school can show

students who receive little guidance at home a different way of living. Even if students

have unhealthy options at home, they can and should receive food of great quality at

school. Although many American students have poor options available to them from the

moment they enter schools, school administrators are often at a loss for how to deal

with the issue and make positive changes (Marr). Changing the options available in the

vending machines is an obvious place to begin the journey towards helping students

adopt new habits.

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Fig. 1. This chart shows statistics on school lunches in the United States and how they

can make a difference.

Besides the difficulties administrators face regarding how to interest the students

in healthier food choices, they also often face resistance from students and even

parents when they attempt to make changes. Many have argued that the changes will

not have any lasting effects. They claim that nutritional habits are started at home, and

that school is a place to focus on academics, not diet and health. Still others feel that

the role of the school is to educate, not to interfere in the food selection of students.

However, recent studies show that the academic performance of students is actually

greatly affected by the quality of the food they ingest at school. If these studies are true,

and in fact school performance and degree of learning are impacted by nutrition

choices, these studies give administrators even more incentive to address the quality of

food offered on their campus. In 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Healthy,

Hunger-Free Kids Act. Those who supported the law hoped to raise minimum
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nutritional standards for public school lunches. The growing epidemic of childhood

obesity was the primary motivating factor for the passage of the law. Since one in every

five children in America are obese, legislators felt the need to take action (Anderson,

Gallagher, Ritchie). In previous research, focus had been on the importance of nutrition

to areas such as physical health, cognition and behavior. However, research published

in the past two years has established a direct link between healthy school lunches and

actual academic test scores. A study of 9,700 schools in California were included in the

study. The quality of lunch menus were analyzed by independent nutritionists. The

study lasted five years and specifically looked at the differences in test scores when

schools changed from in house preparation of meals to contracted preparation by

nutritionally aware private companies. In years when schools contracted lunch

preparation, the scores of students went up an average of 0.04 standard deviations

(about 4 percentile points) (Anderson, Gallagher, Ritchie). Also, increases in scores

were 40% higher for children who qualified for free lunches. These results are important

because they show that surprisingly, making the meals more healthy did not lead to

children eating less of the meal. The meals were eaten and scores did, in turn,

improve. Interestingly, though, when students were assessed using the Presidential

Fitness Test, they were not found to be any less overweight. The meals, in the short

run, at least, did not cause a reduction in weight, but they did cause an increase in

academic achievement. While other initiatives such as reducing class size, have cost

upwards of $2,000 per student per year, contracting with healthy meal providers only

averaged the schools $80 per student per year and led to equally successful results for

a much more affordable budget (Anderson, Gallagher, Ritchie).

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Encouraging the community to be educated about childhood obesity and

contribute to making changes is critical. In an article by Sally Squires, a health and

nutrition columnist for the Washington Post, the readers in the Washington DC metro

area are encouraged to participate in an effort to educate themselves about ways to

help children avoid obesity. One of the primary ways mentioned in the article is helping

children to take ownership of their meals and learn to try new foods and choose healthy,

whole foods more frequently. After visiting schools in the Washington, DC, area and

observing home economics classes, Squires found that students actively involved in

choosing menus and cooking the recipes of their choice were far more likely to make

healthy choices and give whole food meals a chance. Many of the students reported

that they would never have tried many of the ingredients had their moms served them,

but that after making them on their own, they felt a pride in their ability and a desire to

eat the fruits of their labors (Squires). Both boys and girls reportedly changed many

attitudes towards healthy eating and also realized that their choices were often more

economical than eating foods already prepared. These changes in attitudes and

enthusiastic responses were also able to transfer to their families at home and lead to

changes for their whole household. Genuine enthusiasm for an approach translates to

real positive and long lasting changes in the health of students.

With childhood obesity rates climbing, many schools have tried to combat the

problem and provide policies to prevent it but there is always more to be done. Not only

does childhood obesity affect the outward appearance, causing low self esteem but it

can take a toll on the body’s health. Children who are overweight from a young age are

far more likely to become obese or end up with heart disease when they become adults.
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As parents, it is their job to prevent this problem by taking action and providing their

children with healthy food and healthy habits. According to the National Conference of

State Legislatures, over 78 million adults and over 12 million children in the United

States are obese. As horrifying as these numbers are, obesity rates among adolescents

continue to climb, tripling since 1980 (Barrington). What roles do public schools play?

More than 75% of the children in America are enrolled in schools. This means that

schools are capable of having a huge impact on the children every day. Although some

schools do try to implement eating healthy lunch foods and snacks, most of them are

only doing the bare minimum. Meals and snacks offered in school should meet

nationwide nutritional standards. In addition to promoting healthy food choices, schools

should require physical education classes, not just offer them. Studies show that

children require at least 60 minutes per day of physical activity, which is hard to do

when sitting at a desk all day. In fact, new data shows that only 4% of elementary

schools, 8% of middle schools, and 2% of high schools actually offer daily physical

education to their students (Barrington). Another important aspect in promoting health

in the schools is educating students about balanced nutrition and what healthy meal

choices look like. Explaining and teaching the importance of healthy lifestyle choices is

so important to students and should be incorporated into all school curricula. Teaching

students information such as the importance of nutritional standards, acceptable levels

of calorie consumption, balanced intake of proteins and fats, and the impact of physical

activity on physical and mental health can all be essential to preventing obesity in

adolescents. These lessons should be included at appropriate times by all teachers, as

well as school nurses. Staff and teachers should be encouraged to make healthy
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choices for themselves in order to set an example for the students around them.

Students are told that healthy food is critical to their success mentally and physically.

With that being said, all vending machines carry junk food and all events offer poor food

and drink. Teachers quote statistics from the FDA but spend their lunch hour eating

twinkies and drinking soda, making the likelihood that students will actually adopt

healthy habits slim. While the schools can not control what students and their parents

eat at home, they can make good options available at the schools, make physical

activity fun and motivating in physical education classes, and model healthy choices via

their staff and teachers. In this way, the schools can do much to encourage and

convince students that their choices directly affect their quality of life and overall health.

When schools attempt to convince students that their nutritional habits are

important, the staff and teachers must cooperate. In most schools, these efforts are led

by school nurses. School nurses are responsible for managing chronic illnesses of

students, overseeing medication administration, helping in times of injury or illness, and

educating children regarding healthy lifestyle habits. However, studies show that many

schools are underfunded and school nurses are desperately overloaded and unable to

adequately fill all of these roles. While the most important time to provide obesity

prevention training to students is during elementary years when habits are forming,

interviews conducted in a study of elementary schools in Minnesota showed that this

critical time is not being appropriately utilized. Many staff and teachers, including

nurses, who were interviewed reported that they felt that staff and parents alike would

support efforts by school nurses to prevent obesity in the schools. However, when

further interviewed, most nurses reported that while they were in the perfect position to
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influence children and provide services likely to greatly reduce childhood obesity, they

were unable to accomplish their goals due to limited time, staff, and funding (Johnson,

Kubik, Morrison-Sandberg). Unless schools place more importance on health education

and implementation of obesity preventative measures, increasing funding and staff for

these areas, the likelihood that children will begin to adopt increasingly healthy habits

for themselves is very unlikely. Schools cannot expect children to believe that these

areas of life are critically important if these areas are not well supervised, well funded,

and well presented on a regular basis in all public schools. In order to take full

advantage of the influence schools can have on students during these formative years,

Americans must make the role of school nurse an important one and appoint capable

nurses who are equipped to look for obesity and its accompanying illnesses and help

children to make changes in lifestyle habits. Even more importantly, schools must fund

programs headed by school nurses to teach children how to be healthy and to

proactively prevent poor choices and poor health. In this case, an ounce of prevention

is surely worth more than a pound of obesity!

Of the many illnesses facing children in our country, obesity is one of the fastest

growing and yet most preventable conditions. The amount of children under the age of

19 diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2017 increased 4.8 percent over the course of a

year (Mills). Diabetes leads to many, many complications, and healthy eating and

appropriate weight can almost always prevent or cure this disease. Children need to be

physically fit in order to grow and learn and enjoy life to its full potential. Schools should

be places where children are protected and safe -- even safe from foods which might

eventually harm them. Americans cannot afford to continue to ignore the fact that soda
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and processed foods are creating a huge amount of obesity and illness in our entire

population. Children deserve to be protected from harmful foods, introduced to healthy

foods and habits, and be overseen by professionals who are committed to making sure

that they are excelling, not only academically, but physically, as well. If Americans do

not make these issues a priority now, the effects will be felt later as our nation pays for

the health care both mentally and physically, that will be needed by a generation of

children who are obese and have lacked adequate healthy nutrition. For these reasons,

we must offer healthy foods, involves students in learning to make and choose

nutritional menus, and employ competent staff and nurses and equip them to

successfully model and present skills which will lead to a life of optimal health. As

Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa, so wisely stated, “There can be no

keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”

Works Cited

Anderson, Michael L., et al. “How the Quality of School Lunch Affects Students'

Academic Performance.” Brookings, Brookings, 3 May 2017,

www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2017/05/03/how-the-quality-

of-school-lunch-affects-students-academic-performance/.

Barrington, Kate. “What Are Public Schools Doing to Fight Obesity and Is It Working?”

Public School Review, 29 Aug. 2018, www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/what-

are-public-schools-doing-to-fight-obesity-and-is-it-working.
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Bossenmeyer, Zia. “Schools Role in Childhood Obesity Crisis.” Peaceful Playgrounds,

15 Aug. 2019, peacefulplaygrounds.com/schools-role-in-the-childhood-obesity-

crisis/.

Chan. “Sugary Drinks.” The Nutrition Source, 16 Oct. 2019,

www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/sugary-drinks/.

“Lessons from the Lunchroom.” Union of Concerned Scientists. 15 Feb. 2015,

https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/lessons-lunchroom

Marr. The Washington Post, WP Company, 2010,

voices.washingtonpost.com/washbizblog/2008/05/early_briefing_67.html.

Mills, Amanda. “Rates of New Diagnosed Cases of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes on the

Rise among Children, Teens.” National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services, 17 Apr. 2017, www.nih.gov/news-events/news-

releases/rates-new-diagnosed-cases-type-1-type-2-diabetes-rise-among-

children-teens.

“Rates of New Diagnosed Cases of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes on the Rise among

Children, Teens.” National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services, 17 Apr. 2017, www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/rates-

new-diagnosed-cases-type-1-type-2-diabetes-rise-among-children-teens.

Squires, Sally. “Sally Squires - Healthy Home Ec.” The Washington Post, WP Company,

20 May 2008, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-

dyn/content/article/2008/05/16/AR2008051603540.html.
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