I chose to write about healthier school lunches in the USA because it is a topic close to my heart. Being a health fanatic, I am intrigued and interested in having schools in the USA serve healthier meals in their cafeterias. It is vital to have students lead healthier lives and eat healthier foods in their school (Hellmich, USA Today). In my opinion, schools currently do not serve healthy meals. There is no variety of vegetables and other healthy meals in school cafeteria, hence the need to advocate for a change in menus and introduction of healthy meals. My ideologies are biased because my school did not have a variety of healthy foods in its cafeteria, and the obesity rates in the country keep on rising. Since students spend most of their time in school, it is vital to have healthy meals as a prerequisite of lesser obesity rates.
I hope to understand the manner with which schools can play a part in ensuring that there are reduced obesity rates and healthier children in the society. It is my aim to gather information on the preferences of the students regarding the foods they eat and their thoughts about healthier meals in their cafeteria. It is evident that the American society is fond of junk and fast foods. Some of the questions to be addressed include whether the society would like better meals in schools and the manner with which these meals will contribute towards reduction in obesity rates in the country.
Interview with friend and family members reveal that they share my sentiments. Taking a look at the foods that schools serve to their students, it is only prudent to conclude that it is these meals that contribute to higher obesity rates in the country, especially amongst teenagers. Although there are those individuals who still ascertain that the cafeterias in schools serve healthy meals, a majority of health fanatics will state that the foods served in schools contribute to the growing obesity rates in the country. To have a healthier, more satisfied nation, the revolution must begin with the service of healthier foods in school cafeteria. Healthy meals lead to more comfortable students; hence their performance and contribution in school activities will be noted and agreed upon.
Walking down the streets, it is evident that there is a large population of obese individuals in the society. A majority of these individuals are teens (Obesity Free Forever). It is easy to note that these teens spend a large part of their days in school, hence the large portion of the unhealthy foods they are eating originate in the school cafeteria. It is vital to have healthier students because they are more active and give a greater contribution to school. It is vital for school management to serve healthier meals because of the current obesity rates. Service of healthy foods ensures that the students remain satisfied in school, yet they are having healthier meals. I would like to know more about this topic because of my ‘healthier foods in school’ campaign. Before I begin this campaign, I must have hard facts and evidence to support my premises.
I plan on using interviews and questionnaires to gather information on the topic. I will visit schools and speak to the administration on the current meals they serve to their students. I will also speak to the students to gather more information on their preferences and their opinions of the foods they eat in their schools. The questionnaires will be used to delve deeper into the topic and gather more information regarding the state of the meals the students have and their opinions of the health benefits.
My initial research concluded that there are higher rates of obesity in schools that otherwise thought. There is no variety of foods in their cafeterias and there have been previous campaigns aimed at advocating for healthier meals in school cafeterias. There are students in these schools who are not accustomed to eating unhealthy meals hence hey find the idea of eating unhealthy foods appalling and disturbing. The next questions should be the manner with which these schools and their administrations can improve these meals and serve healthier foods during meal time.
The management has a role to play in ensuring that the students have a healthy meal all the time and should aim at reducing the amount and portions of unhealthy meals (Mader, The Huffington Post). Also in the follow-up questions is the ide3a of whether all schools should have a nutritionist for meal planning and provision of quality foods to the students. Up until his point, my research is going according to schedule. I have visited a few schools and gathered information about the meals that they serve to their students. It is vital that the management is concerned with the foods that their students eat, hence their trial to introduce healthier foods.
Some of the administrators, however, note that there are students who do not like eating the healthy means because of the lifestyle to which they are used in their families. The only bias in the research is mu desire to gain results that will work towards advancing my campaign of advocating for healthier foods in school cafeterias. Having been a part of the same system that serves their children with unhealthy foods, I am of the notion that all schools have the same menu that is inclusive of unhealthy foods to the students. During my research, I was pleased to find out that there are some schools that have embraced healthier meals and are advocates for their students to eat healthy even without the confines of the school.
It is evident that obesity rates, especially amongst teens in the society, are on the rise. This can be attributed to the fact that schools these days serve unhealthy meals to their students, and are less concerned with the quality of the meals they give to them. It is vital to have a campaign to ensure that there are healthier meals in schools because it is the place students spend a larger portion of their day (Taub-Dix, USA News). Some schools are dedicated to ensuring that their students have healthier meals, but that is a rare phenomenon in the society.
It is evident that schools are in dire need of nutritionists in order to plan their meals and serve students with healthier meals. Healthier students are more active and motivated, and their contribution in school is tremendous. It is evident that schools should serve healthier meals and be a part of the wagon that advocates for lower obesity rates. The purpose of this research is to discover the manner with which unhealthy foods in school cafeterias are leading to higher obesity rates and advocating for healthier meals in schools.
Works Cited
Hellmich, Nanci. Students Push Back on New School Lunches. USA Today, 28th September, 2012. Web. 10th Feb 2013.
Mader, Jackie. Healthy School Lunch: America’s Obsession with School Meals. The Huffington Post, 7th January, 2013. Web. 10th Feb 2013.
Obesity Free Forever. Teen Obesity in America is at an all Time High. Retrieved on 10th Feb, 2013, from http://www.obesity-free-forever.com/TeenObesityinAmerica.html
Taub-Dix, Bonnie. Healthy Vs. Healthy: The School Lunch Controversy. USA News, 5th October, 2012. Web. 10th Feb 2013.
