Saturday, May 30, 2009

Health Issues in Education

A very current education issue has to do with the health of American children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “roughly 17 percent of school-age children are obese, triple the rate in 1980”. “Obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and other chronic illnesses” (Abbott, 1). Some states, such as Iowa, have taken big steps to combat junk food in schools. New revisions to Iowa’s Healthy Kids Act will take effect July 2010. Some of the rules say “soda is off-limits to students unless they bring it themselves, fruit and vegetable juices can’t have added sweeteners, and soda, nachos and cheese sauce, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, French fries, and potato chips can’t be sold in schools”. “The rules target snacks sold in school vending machines and a la carte stands, which have become popular alternatives to traditional school lunches for students and money makers for schools” (Des Moines Register, 1).

Author Monica Bell of Facing Up to the Obesity Problem talks about how charter schools might help this problem. Bell states that for obese kids in public schools, the “stigma makes it hard to thrive academically or to adopt healthier habits” (Bell, 1). She thinks that it would be “virtually impossible for the public education system to provide enough funding for regular schools to tackle childhood obesity”. “Schools that targeted obese kids could teach them better habits and shield them from constant embarrassment, and could also empower these young people to excel” (Bell, 3). Sounds promising, right?

Public schools are having trouble keeping up with not only the rising cost of food in general, but also the “federally mandated ‘wellness policies’ that require schools to offer healthier food options for lunch” (Samuels, 2). This is forcing “many meals directors to ask their school boards to consider raising prices to keep up with the cost of the food that is going on the plate” (Samuels, 1). “Federal reimbursement rates are not enough to match the price of a school lunch”, and “districts make up the difference out of their own budgets” (Samuels, 3). Along with $100 million included in the stimulus package for school cafeteria equipment, while in the Senate President Obama proposed a budget that included a $1-billion-a-year increase for child nutrition (QSR, 2).

So, I would like to get everyone’s opinion on this issue with a few discussion questions:
(1) How accountable for children’s health should public schools be?
(2) With all the other serious issues out there dealing with the actual education part of schools, should federal money be going toward health and nutrition?
(3) What do you think about the charter school idea posed by Monica Bell, is this a form of segregation?

31 comments:

  1. In Federal Bill Targets Junk Food it states, "Today, we need to reorient food policies toward preventing obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related diseases that might result in this generation of children living shorter lives than their parents," Wootan says. I agree that we should be offering food with nutritional value. I believe that healthy options should be readily available. Snack type foods that are full of sugar and fat should not be offered in schools. In most middle and high schools, French fries and pizza are the staples that lunches are made of. In our school they offer one healthy option, along with the pizza, fries, slushy, nacho’s etc. Most children eat pizza and fries each day. This having been said, I think that Monica Bell’s solution to the childhood obesity rates is ludicrous. In my mind this is another attempt of education to solve all of the problems of childhood. If we are ever to educate the youth of America in a way that prepares them to compete in a global economy, then we must stop trying to fix every problem and concentrate on the fixable problems.
    Certainly obese kids are more common than when I was a child. We are after all the fattest nation in the world. Is offering children a healthy lunch in school 5 days a week going to solve the problem? I would say that with 180 days of school per year we will not fix the childhood obesity rates in the schools, since children that are obese go home and eat unhealthy food. In my mind this is a family issue. This is not to say that we should not address the health issues in schools. I believe that we should include this information in health classes, home economics and science classes. Children should also have opportunities for physical activity, gym classes and recess.
    Do these kids face more bullying? Absolutely! However, it would serve more students if we addressed the issue of bullying in schools, this would reach more students and be a better investment.
    I was unable to open the link to the Tucson School District garden web-site, but I found this quote from a student at a website devoted to the garden, “Because it is organic, we can eat the things in the garden,” said fifth-grader Tess Holmquist. http://schoolgardenweekly.com/school-garden-news/school-garden-news-tuscon-arizona. This seems like a viable option, because the opportunities to fit real life into curriculum based learning is endless. Kids would be more likely to eat health foods if they had a part in growing the vegetables.
    The role of the American school system in relationship to the health of students is limited. We should offer healthy foods, and teach nutrition and provide time for children to exercise, but beyond that I feel that this is an area that parents need to be the primary authority.
    As an aside, the article on birth control in Oregon schools fired me up, “Teens who are sexually active or have sexually transmitted diseases may be given birth control, which may also be prescribed when requested by a parent.” First of all if a child is sexually active they can go to Planned Parenthood and receive birth control with or without their parents. Secondarily, this is another issue that schools will not solve, this is a family issue, and I for one would not want to take my 14 year old daughter to our school nurse to receive birth control.

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  2. I believe schools can only be as accountable as the 7 ½ hours per day, 180 days per year we work with the children. We also only keep the children in school for mostly ages 5-18, which isn’t the biggest part of someone’s life. Parents/Guardians have their children 364 days per year, with many children still packing lunches. Teachers are not the catch all problems to fix the world; parents should have some blame on what they feed their children and what they do at home. Teachers are already, counselor’s, secretaries, teachers, confidants, organizers, and now they want us to also be dieticians, we can teach them healthy habits but we cannot force feed them healthy foods. I also wonder how, they want us to teach all for NCLB (testing), the STEM subjects, and now they want to up physical education for healthier habits, “although time for physical education increased by about 14 minutes a week in the study schools, the research found the time allotted for free play at recess dropped by 19 minutes a week. With the broader society continuing to place higher expectations and demands on schools, making physical activity a higher priority in schools will require stronger legislation…” (Journal for public health policy)I feel that it is almost impossible to add all this into the school day.

    The current federal deficit is 11.3 TRILLION dollars (http://www.federalbudget.com/), should the government be spending federal money on health issues, yes, but the money should be spread over making healthier food choices more affordable for its citizens. For example, “Last September, a 50-pound bag of Ultragrain, a whole-wheat flour that looks and tastes like white flour, cost the St. Paul, Minnesota, district $15.25. Now, the same bag costs $25, said Ronnei, the director of nutrition services for 40,000-student district (Samuels)” How can school district justify paying for that when they cannot afford new textbooks for the students to learn an updated technique for Math or Technology.

    The charter school that was proposed by Bell means well, however, if so many of our nation’s youth are obese why should a select few, whom are willing to pay “$25,000 per semester at minimum” (Bell), then were not solving the problem by sending them to that school. Parents could use that money to purchase healthier foods for their household, to benefit more than just one person in that family. I do feel that it is a form of segregation, segregated those that are willing and able to pay that amount of money to fix an issue that the more than likely caused or contributed too.

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  3. Students are in school for 180 days a year. Schools generally provide breakfast and lunch. I think schools should be accountable for what they are feeding students. When I think of health issues and school, I think of breakfast food, lunch food, health classes, physical education classes, athletics and any culinary arts courses offered at schools i.e. vocational schools. So I do think that schools have to some degree be accountable for health issue as they relate to young people. "Current federal law only prohibits the sale of narrowly defined foods of minimal nutritional value in the cafeteria during meal time"(Qrs,p.1). This law has not been updated in 30 years. So, I agree if health was an issue in schools 30 years ago then it should still be an issue for schools to address today. "While the typical school lunch is reasonably balanced, according to CSPI"(QSR, p.1). It is the addition of junk food that is the problem with school meals. Now If students are bringing their own junk food, I think that the family needs to held accountable, However, if the cafeteria has a snack line or vending machines offering junk food then that school should be accountable. Margo Wooten, CSPI Nutrition Policy makers, mentions the effect of junk food in schools and the adverse effect it is having on the federal healty lunch program(QSR,March 2009).

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  4. I agree that schools can only do what is in their control and most nutrition and physical fitness issues are family issues. All schools can do is provide the right foods and snacks, give information about nutrition and physical fitness, provide opportunities for exercise, prohibit certain foods from entering the school, be role models for appropriate nutrition and physical fitness, and try to prevent bullying. I definitely think they need to stop with the french fries, slushies, pizza, and fried food. Most kids get enough of that at home. Jessica, I love the idea of the garden. I would think many more kids would eat vegetables that they helped grow.

    I thought it was interesting that in one of the studies I read about on EdWeek ("Studies Suggest School Cafeterias Still Need to Trim Fat"), kids who ate school lunches were getting more nutrients than the kids who packed. They said the main reason is because kids who pack their own lunch drink sugary drinks and students who buy school lunch drink milk. I also thought it was interesting that in that same study, researchers found that students who ate breakfast at school had lower body mass indexes. Sounds to me like this is a family issue, not a school issue.

    I thought it was absurd that federal law hasn't been updated in 30 years and obesity has tripled in that time ("Federal Bill Targets Junk Food in Schools" QSR Magazine, 2009). I wonder what is causing so much obesity. I don't think schools are to blame because they offer sugary foods. It doesn't help, but I believe there are much more complex explanations for why obesity has become such an issue. I think our whole nation uses food as a comfort and overeating is tied to emotional issues. I also think kids are moving less because of video games, tv, and computers.

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  6. As long as schools take on the responsibility of providing meals to students, there should be federal and state funding going toward health and nutrition issues. Now, I think there should be a limit of involvement on behalf of schools in terms of the health issues and students. I think the article by Christina Samuels titled "Studies evaluate school wellness Policies"(ED. Week, March 2009), points out a situation in which, I think, schools are too involved. There is a 6 year old state policy in Arkansas aimed at reducing childhood obesity. Childhood obesity I don't think is an issue for schools to address they should leave that issue to the professionals in that field. If schools are following the "Federally manadated Wellness Policy" which requires schools to offer healthier food options for lunch(Samual p.2). I beleive they have done their part.

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  7. The article by Monica Bell on charter schools I thought was interesting. I don't particularly agree with the premise but I guess it is and effort to help people. In the article I think the guidance counselor did a poor job with Monica and her suggestion about what Monica should do and why. All kids that are overweight don't have the issues that this particular counselor was assuming Monica and her family where having, I wonder why the counselor choose to approach a student in that fashion... what was the intent? This is an example of why the schools should leave the issue of obsesity to the professional. I think, there maybe emotional issues that guidance counselors may not be prepared to deal with. The charter school ideal sounds good, I'm just concerned about having qualified professionals working with these students and their families, not teachers and administrators in the role social workers, psychologists, psychiarists, food nutritionists, medical doctors. The professionals I just listed I did not read about their role in the charter school that deals with obesity,(however I could have missed it....). Depression and other mental health or emotional issues maybe the source of the student's problem with obesity......... are teachers ready to deal with thes issues?????

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  8. Addressing the last question first about charters geared towards obese students, I have to agree with Jessica: ludicrousness…. I absolutely agree that this would be a form of segregation. I think that putting a bunch of overweight students in one school would be detrimental to those children. I think they would look around and think, finally somewhere where everyone is just like me. Now I don’t have to feel guilty, now I don’t have to be ashamed. I think the other ideas Bell mentioned about involving parents, educating them on how to shop and cook in a healthy way, about teaching kids about nutrition and exercise are good. I also agree with Bell when she states that obesity is best addressed early.

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  9. I agree with Jen B. kids are not as active as they used to be. I also think more parents are working second and sometimes third jobs and relying more heavily on fast food alternatives.
    As far as schools stepping in and helping out I believe they need to. Unfortunately schools have to do soooooo much more than educate their students. I understand that it seems like too much but for many students and families school is where they get the most support. It is up to schools to educate students and parents on how to be healthy. 180 days is a lot of days and 8 hrs is most of the time the kids are awake that day.

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  10. Child obesity is a huge epidemic today. I believe we need to be aware of the situation and promote as much physical activity as possible in school since more and more children are coming home from school and sitting in front of their computers or televisions to play video games. Children are suffering from health issues that we once thought were only relevant in an adult. According to medicalfoundation.org, "High cholesterol, high blood pressure, arthritis, fatty deposits in the liver, and type 2 diabetes are all common findings in overweight children." I agree with David when he commented about as long as schools are providing responsibility for nutrition on schools they should be able to receive fundings. I believe that President Obama's proposed budget "including $1 billion a year increase for child nutrition" (QSR Magazine, March 2009) should be very effective in schools. With that increase in budget, schools should be able to focus on educating the students on health concerns, provide high energy effective workouts for the students and the resources to continue smart and healthy choices outside of school.

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  11. It seems that since in our district 37 percent of the students in the district failed both reading and math, we don't have enough money in the building to buy toner for the printer... etc... that trying to solve childhood obesity which is a medical issue... and I am not a doctor. Is not something that educators should begin to try to solve. I think by nature teachers are "fix it people" but we cannot fix everything. In my opinion beyond offering healthy food choices, providing physical exercise, and addressing health issues in health class and home ec there is nothing more that we can do. The extra one billion dollars where does this come from, unemployment is higher than it has been in decades.

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  12. Fast food alternatives are easily accessible for us...and even sometimes easier for parents to provide a quick dinner for those picky eaters who will only eat fast food items, thus leading to obesity if over looked. However, obesity should not be over looked and I felt the article, "Facing up to the Obesity Problem" does not propose a successful solution in helping to put an end to obesity. I feel that would target students even more if they were isolated to a building such as a "charter school" I question where the ethics are with the following statement, "At a charter school designed to educate obese kids both academically and physically, school leaders could select teachers and administrators who were sensitive to the physical and psychological perils of childhood obesity, and trained to help kids overcome them." (Facing up to the Obesity Problem) Shouldn't our job as educators is to educate everyone no matter the size or capability the child may have? Isolating a child to a school because of his or her size is sending the wrong message to the community as well as to the child. It's seeming that we need to conform to the entertainment model that we all see on television. Children have enough to worry about with stress of making friends in school to working towards high grades. I feel their self esteem would be lowered if they realized they were not accepted at their neighborhood school. Our job is to help them. Not necessarily support obesity, but encourage them to recognize the situation and come up with a better life style and help them become active and promote healthy choices in their life style.

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  13. I agree with tostrolencki about isolating the kids at a charter designated for obese kids. Also I don't know where the $1 billion comes from but our government certainly seems to be able to come up with funds look at the failed buyout attempt we just had. Didn't the government give GM 19 million a month ago?

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  14. As for the first question, I think that there is a pretty big accountability factor on kid's health, not only at the schools but definitely with parents. In order for children to learn nutritious habits and how to eat healthy, it first starts at home. Kids follow examples and so they must be shown helathy eating habits. Therefore, I do a gree with Jessica's comment that teaching healthy eating choices is a family issue, but being that students are in school during much of the day, the school does have some accountability here. When students get to school, there parents are not there telling them what they can and cannot eat so they have the freedom to eat the junk food/unhealthy food that they are normally not allowed to eat at home.

    I also agree with Jen B.'s comment that kids are less active and they don't go outside as much because of video games and computers. And in the schools, especially when you reach high school, gym may only be offered for one year and only for one semester during that year. Then, a lot of that time is used for standing in line waiting your turn for whatever activity is going on.

    I don't think that there is an easy solution to this problem, but I think that schools in the future could work toward promoting healthy eating habits. While there is not enough time in the school year to teach what many teachers would like, they could coincide teaching health (especially at the elementary school level) with a lesson during National Health Week or something of the sort. The earlier students learn about healthy eating/living habits, the better off they will be. Also, many students, at a young age, are involved in after-school programs because their parents work late. These programs would be opportune times to work with kids and keep them being active. For example, many kids like the game Dance Dance Revolution, which is a fun dancing game, but students can also stay active by playing this. Or, if it is nice outside, they can do fun activities outside.

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  15. When it comes to figuring out a way to provide healthy food options in the school, much of it has to do with funding. While schools may want to provide healthier options for their students, many times it is just not fiscally possible. In her article, Christina Samuels states (when discussing "wellness policies" that are federally mandated) "Some of these options-whole grain rolls, for example-cost more than their less nutritious counterparts." Therefore, I feel that it is important for there to be at least some money spent federally to help with the obesity issue.

    In the article "Federal Bill Targets Junk Food in Schools" there is a quote from CPI nutrional policy directory Margo G. Wootan who says, "But junk food in schools helps fuel an epidemic of obesity and diabetes in children, and it undercuts the considerable federal investment we make in the healthy school lunch program." The nutrition bill which would regulate what the schools have on their lunch menu would help with the funding and make sure that the money being sent to the schools would be put to good use. That way, there wouldn't be a waste of federal funds and the students would hopefully be receiving more nutritious lunches and food options.

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  16. Good point Ali! I realize that several children come to school hungry, and the food they eat at school is the only meal(s) they get all day. But, to Ali point, were is the government getting all this money. The government is running GM, we have heathcare for all coming soon to a clinic near you, and now we realize that the food we placed in our school's cafe might be unhealthy and makes our children fat. Our country is turning into a "Nanny State," whereas we have to look to the government to solve all our problems. We need to take responsibility for our own actions and figure out solutions to our existing problems within the family and education.

    Think about this, when I was a kid, 20,000 year ago, if I stayed in the house, I had to stick around and clean it with my mother. I quickly found the door and did not return until the street lights turned on. It was more of an innocent time, we were able to walk and play in our neighborhoods, parks, baseball fields within playgrounds, become involve in a pick up games of football. There were hardly any overweight children growing up. Now, parents are afraid to let their children out of the house, we have organized sports with adults overlooking every move the child makes. It has all changed and parents are more comfortable to have their children stay in the house and wait for their organized soccer, baseball, hockey practice or game to begin.

    You combine all this with a TV, video games, and a refrigerator filled with coke, ice cream, quick and easy ready to make dinners, fast foods, etc ( no one has time for the old fashion dinner with the family at 5:00 PM any longer) and you may end up with an overweight child. It is sad to say, it is the overweight child that is not involved in the organized sports, they have no one to play with because no one is outside any longer. The kids are all in the minivans across America going to and from one activity to another.

    Overall, obesity is an indirect cause of parent's concern for their child's safety. There are too many individuals out there that want to hurt our children and maybe even take them away from us. Parents are frightened by this new reality over the last 10 to 15 years. Take a look at an old established playground that been around for years in your neighborhood, no one is playing an unorganized game of any sort, that playground is empty and if a child is there, he or she is with their parents or coach and not just with their friends.

    I know this might be a reach, obesity is somewhat related to the concern of our child's safety, but after reflecting on how I grew up and how my son grew up, there is a huge difference. Neighborhoods are different, our surroundings are different, and I know that my parenting skills were quite different compared to the skills of my parents years ago.

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  17. I see your thinking Tom, my 14 year old does not just hang out as we did. We too went out and stayed out til my dad whistled for us, when the street lights came on. We did not have video games or televisions in our bedrooms, heck we were the remote control. All of these things play a role in the lack of calorie burning happening in America's youth. Society has changed as each of the issues we have discussed make perfectly clear. I just think we try to do too much and then end up not being able to do the job we are there to do. There are only so many dollars in the pot, and we need to spend them in areas that will be most effective.

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  18. I think video & electronic creators are realizing they are a contributing factor to child obesity and I think that is why Nintendo came out with Wii and Wii Fit. Those two items are hot items in the store and the business aspect knows that. The exercise systems have great meaning behind to make playing video games interactive and allows you to burn calories while you are having fun. In a way, it helps those children who are cooped up in their home because of safety reasons that their neighorhood is too dangerous to be outside . But then again, if their neighborhood they live in is dangerous (or in poverty), what are the chances they will be able to afford the system entirely because it is a pricey item. The ones who can afford it probably have their child in every extra curricular activity and do not necessarily need the interaction the Wii provides. However, in the winter when you can't get out and play it's a great exercise tool to have. ( I played my Wii all the time on our snow days off!) I feel either way you look at the situation it's a catch 22 for everyone because of the correlation that obesity is having with safety concerns as Tom pointed out. How can you win and overcome both situations?

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  19. I do believe that schools should be help accountable for a portion of the children's health and nutrition. If they eat breakfast and lunch (which most students do) at school, they are really only eating supper outside of school. Not all students have a big backyard that they can go play in when they get home from school, or live close to a park - so I believe that athletics and physical education (including recess) plays a big part in the children's lives. If they are not getting the things they need at school, who's to say they are getting it at home? In the article stated "As Food Prices Rise, Setting Menus is Causing Heartburn for Some Schools", it did make a good point that these days nutritional food can and is costing more than their "less nutritional counterpart", so schools are opting for the cheaper option because of our struggling economy. I strongly believe that it is important for the school districts to spend that little bit extra money to get healthier foods into our children. I think that the benefits of it greatly outweigh the cost involved.

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  20. I agree with Tiffany when she talks about the benefits of owning a Wii and Wii Fit. Suprisingly, most of my children in my classroom own either one or the other, even the children that I would consider coming from a lower-income household. These children might not come to school in clean clothes everyday, but darned if they don't have a Playstation 2 or a Wii at home!! Playing with the Wii or Wii Fit is obviously not as beneficial as running around or playing outside in the fresh air, but it is a much better option that sitting stagnant for the entire evening playing video games in their rooms.

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  21. The federal bill targeting junk food in schools seems like it is a good idea. The article talks about how when Obama was in the Senate he had his own bill to keep junk food out. Of course schools are pinpointing lunch and breakfast programs with this type of legislation, however I think teachers need to be more proactive about promoting healthy foods. I feel like on just about any given day there is some sort of reward party going on in a classroom. These parties always seem to be in addition to lunch and seem to have pizza as their main staple. Of course there are also the sugary drinks, potato chips, cookies, brownies and the like. Also in the younger grades you are looking at 20-35 classroom birthday parties depending on the size of your class. I think teachers should move away from parties promoting high fat foods and just do game days or extra recess.

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  22. Check out this site about research that says it is the way food is prepared that is causing obesity. Too much sugar and not enough fiber...

    http://news.ucsf.edu/releases/childhood-obesity-caused-by-toxic-environment-of-western-diets-study-says/

    Childhood obesity caused by “toxic environment” of Western diets, study says

    A UCSF researcher has determined that a key reason for the epidemic of pediatric obesity, now the most commonly diagnosed childhood ailment, is that high-calorie, low-fiber Western diets promote hormonal imbalances that encourage children to overeat.
    In a comprehensive review of obesity research published in the August edition of the journal Nature Clinical Practice Endocrinology & Metabolism, Robert Lustig, MD, professor of clinical pediatrics at UCSF Children’s Hospital, says that food manufacturing practices have created a “toxic environment” that dooms children to being overweight.
    “It will take acknowledgement of the concepts of biological susceptibility and societal accountability and de-emphasis of the concept of personal responsibility to make a difference in the lives of children,” Lustig says.

    Changes in food processing during the past 30 years, particularly the addition of sugar to a wide variety of foods that once never included sugar and the removal of fiber, both of which promote insulin production, have created an environment in which our foods are essentially addictive, he adds.
    Lustig also notes that children cannot be blamed or expected to take personal responsibility for their dietary behavior in an environment when the foods they are offered - especially cheaply prepared “fast foods” that are full of sugar and devoid of fiber - are toxic.
    “The concept of personal responsibility is not tenable in children. No child chooses to be obese,” he says. “Furthermore, young children are not responsible for food choices at home or at school, and it can hardly be said that preschool children, in whom obesity is rampant, are in a position to accept personal responsibility.”
    “If we don’t fix this, our children will continue to lose,” he emphasizes.

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  23. To go along with Ali's comment on party food for student's birthdays, I think that parents are realizing that children need healthier food. At the beginning of the year, one child in my classroom brought in veggie cups for each student for her birthday. It was filled with different "sticks" of veggies sitting in a cup with Ranch Dressing in the bottom." The kids loved it! And since then a few children (of course not all - there are still the regular cupcakes that make their way into my room) have caught on and saw how much everyone liked it, and brought in their own versions. One students brought in "ants on a log" for his birthday treat. So although a high percentage of these parties are unhealthy - they are not all bad.

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  24. I really like the idea of looking at the concepts of "biological suspeptibility" and "societal accountability" that Dr. Lustig talks about in my previous post. Like other issues we have discussed, I think it's too simple and easy to blame on the kids or parents. It is a complex issue that has many causes. To me, though, the "toxic environment" makes sense. I try so hard to make sure my kids eat healthy, but it seems that everything they like has 0-1 grams of dietary fiber, too much sugar, and lots of "enriched flour." Organic and most healthy foods can be very expensive! And in cheap places like Save-a-Lot or Aldi's, the only healthy things are milk, eggs, cheese, and fruits/vegetables. The meat is fatty and most food is processed and low in nutrients. The bread is not healthy... Now I'm venting. :)

    What do you think? Do you agree that processed food is causing obesity in kids?

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  25. Jen I agree that processed food is causing obesity. I looked at your website and Lustig has some scary statistics. It is very sad to think that the food we are giving to our children is actually making them sick.
    I found a A School Health Policy Guide on Preventing Childhood Obesity by Colin Pekruhn the director of the obesity prevention project. I skimmed through the guide and found some interesting facts.
    *Obese children are about three times more likely to be hospitalized and the their health care is about three times as costly as an averaged weight child.
    *The article also reiterates what Monica Bell reported about children with obesity missing more school.
    *Pekruhn reports in addition to the increased absences that overweight students also scored lower in reading comprehension on national standardized tests, had more detentions, scored lower in physical fitness and were not as likely to participate in athletics (Pekruhn, 9).
    *The report shares data from the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study (SNDA-III) claiming that only 6 percent of the schools participating in the National School Lunch Program actually met all to the School Meal Initiative standards.

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  26. A couple issues ago there was a comment to a post that they dislike the comparison of business to education, or the operation of business to the operation of education. Well, I thought it was interesting to read Samuels’s article that reviews the balancing act of districts with their food bill. It was like listening to my wife when she goes grocery shopping, “this product has gone up in price in just one week, or this is a better buy, because…” On the last page of the article, Ms. Harrison, general manager of student nutrition services for the 183,000-student Hillsborough County district in Tampa, Florida states, “I have the same overhead as your neighborhood restaurant and we’re expected to stay self-supporting.”

    There is something to be said that our government should start working within a budget, just like we do at our kitchen tables with our checkbooks. Ms. Harrison is trying to keep her cost down, while providing nutritional meals opposed to fattening food.

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  27. Monica Bell’s idea of a special charter school for obese children is quite the leap to solve a problem, at first glance. Then I read the third page of the article relating her idea to gay teenagers that want a unique high school for themselves. Once again, students that are not in the “norm” in a school want to be isolated based on protecting their own sanity. This to is a very hard issue to settle on, I can see the reasoning that gays teens what their own school and Bell’s idea for a special charter school for obese students. On the other side, these children can not hide or live in a bubble; somehow they will have to face the music in life. Overall life is a long journey of twists and turns and if we can protect a certain segment of children from unnecessary cruelty for only four years, then let us investigate options to make this a positive endeavor for the sake of the student’s mental, social, and nutritional lifestyles.

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  28. In Monica Bell's article, she poses interesting points about how to deal with child obesity. While I like some of her ideas in theory, I do not think that creating a charter school for obese children is the solution. She discusses the fact that children in public schools face a stigma: "For many obese kids, stigma makes it hard to thrive academically or to adopt healthier habits. Schools often make obese kids feel worse about themselves." While I agree with this assessment, I still think that kids will face a stigma for attending this schools. Won't other kids still know that they are going to this school for a particular reason? and will this erase the stigma-I personally think the answer is no.

    As for the cost of this school, I don't know how people would really be able to afford this. Many people, especially those from lower income families, turn to junk/fast food due to the conveinence and cheap price so how will these families pay to send their child to this school or will it be considered as a free public education?

    I also agree with Tom that children cannot hide or live in a bubble. But that's not to say that I think the bullying and pressure they face in a public school is okay in anyway. I think there needs to be a way to deal with the stigma that these children face and work with them in that aspect, although that is definitely easier said than done.

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  29. I agree with Davids first post, we do only have the students 180 days per year, and we should be accountable for what we feed them during breakfast and lunch, but if parents are sending in a child's lunch then the parents have to be accountable. I remember reading in one of the articles we had read that if a student eat's their meals at schools then their BMI's (or something) were lower then the students whom packed lunch, and I agree, some of my students' parents pack some hefty lunches while the students that recieve school lunches get a healthier variety of foods.

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  30. I very much agree with everyone, in that children are not as active as they used to be. I know I'm always outside (whenever we have nice weather around here), and their are teenage girls that live next door to me and there never outside and their dad actually took down their swimming pool because they never used it. When I was that age I would have loved a pool, not that I have one I'm in it all the time, it doesn't make sense that from the time I was a kid (which unfortunatley wasn't that long ago) until now where their never outside just being, but teachers can only do what they can do, we are teachers not miracle workers.

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  31. There are a lot of current education issues and issues on health is one of it. You can expect it because some schools are not ready for any kind of health assault.

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