a school wide program that would address the problem of obesity and unhealthy dietary habits among our youth

Running Head : SCHOOLWIDE INITIATIVE

Schools Should Take the Initiative to Help Ensure Healthier Children

Student Name

A lot of factors contribute to the magnanimous rate at which childhood obesity has grown over the last few decades . Since children attend school five days per week , and some children eat two out of three daily meals in school , schools ought to take an active part in ensuring that children are engaging in behaviors that will increase the likelihood of healthier outcomes . This essay , then , is designed to discuss three ways in which schools

can promote health habits among its students

Nutrition is , of course , key in weight management . Amanda Bower and Jeff Chu (2006 ) wrote an essay detailing the ways in which school cafeterias can prepare healthy foods . Their article praised Berkeley High School , in California , for having a long line of students waiting at the salad bar . Bower and Chu call the Berkeley school system a paradigm of school-lunch reform (p . 84 . The article also mentions that Berkeley 's Martin Luther King Jr . Middle School created the Edible Schoolyard . The children spend 90 minutes each week planting , growing harvesting and preparing their own fruits and vegetables . These kinds of initiatives are important in helping children make great food choices If schools provide salads , wheat bread instead of white bread , and naturally sweetened fruit drinks instead of soda , children will learn to like these foods , or , inevitably , learn to deal with it when there are no cookies and chips to choose instead . The down side to this , of course , is money . School cafeterias are usually expected to make a profit therefore , schools have to decide whether the health of their children is more important than being profitable , or , even better , they could figure out how to sell better food and make money

Exercise is also a key component in maintaining a healthy body weight Most schools offer some physical education component , but most schools don 't offer daily physical education requirements - and they should There is a myriad of information showing that increase in exercise in a direct link in staying , or getting , healthy . Since many students like gym class , schools can use physical education to first , reinforce the lessons learned in health class , but also to teach children about target heart rates and about how much exercise is needed daily , even outside of school (weekends , summer vacations . Children are smarter than most people give them credit for , and if children saw physical exercise as fun and healthy , they might be more inclined to participate . Since girls may like different exercises than boys , physical education teachers should provide exercises to suit both genders . PE teachers can also give students a list of some of their favorite fat-burning exercises that students may have never even considered exercise . For example , fat is burned during activities like building a snowman , or bouncing an infant or toddler sibling

Finally , schools can do more to educate parents . When children are enrolled in school , an immunization record (and...