Why are there so many obese kids and adults in America? Is it because of the fast food restaurants? Is it because of technology? Is it because of the schools? Actually, it's all the above. But this article focuses on the schools contribution to obesity. The World Health Organization has recently released the results of health surveys taken between 2000 and 2008 on world obesity. The United States, is the 3rd fattest country in the world. 66.7% of the population is obese. How sad is that? A 2009 study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that 94 percent of school lunches failed to meet the U.S. Agriculture Department's regulatory standards. None of the schools met the sodium benchmark, based on the 2005 dietary guidelines. One in five schools served lunches that met the total fat standard.
Take my school for example. Everyday, my school's cafeteria serves greasy pizza (one time, i dabbed all the grease off with a napkin, it soaked through 13 folded napkins), french fries, greasy hamburgers, chocolate milk, and deep fried chicken nuggets/chicken fries. See what I mean? Schools all around the U.S. are serving kids unhealthy food. Which contributes to teen obesity. The most common lunch from the cafeteria I see is pizza, fries, and chocolate milk. It is also clinically proven that eating healthy can also give you more energy to help you make it throughout your day. Because of this, you are more likely to focus more in class, improving Standardized Test Scores.
Of course there's more to obesity than food. The other major thing that contributes to obesity is physical exercise. Some kids at school don't even have a gym class, or recess. Which only contributes to teen obesity. Studies also show that you are also more likely to have more energy if you get daily exercise. It also helps you maintain your body weight and keep your metabolism up.
Would you believe it if I said that homework can also contribute to obesity? Well it does. Nowadays kids have so much homework (see article "The Homework Revolution") that they sometimes don't have enough time to go outside and play. Which if you don't have gym or recess, is a big problem.
So you see, schools are greatly responsible for teen obesity. And it's time to do something about it. So what I want you to do is don't order lunch from the school's cafeteria. Get outside and ride a bike, or something to get you active. I guarantee it will be the smartest decision you will ever make.