Schools Role in Childhood Obesity free essay sample

Schools Role in Childhood Obesity Schools play a large role in childhood obesity. The food and beverages they offer for lunch and snacks are not usually healthy. Schools need more activity time for students, such as sports during PE and more exercises. Not all students participate in the activities, they need something all students can do and enjoy. What role does school take in childhood obesity? School lunch should not offer such a variety of food; some schools have several lunch lines, however only one or two of these lines are healthy foods.Children should be able to choose what they want to eat, but they should have to choose between healthy options. Lunchrooms offer milk, orange juice, and chocolate milk for students, some offer fountain drinks as well. There is an argument that chocolate milk should be banned from schools, people believe that it is identical to sodas and candy when it obviously is not. We will write a custom essay sample on Schools Role in Childhood Obesity or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Chocolate milk is a small bit higher in sugar than regular milk, but it also has all the same nutrients that milk has, whereas sodas only have calories.Studies show that 35% less milk was consumed when flavored milk was taken out of the lunchrooms. School snacks should be healthy as well. Vending machines are not a good idea for children. â€Å"More unhealthy snacks in school and less demanding physical education programs raise the risk for childhood obesity† say medical experts. Some states have banned vending machines from schools, others have changed the food and beverages available in vending machines and limited students access to them. On the other hand, schools need to have better physical education programs.Most schools let the children decide if they want to take PE or not, this should not ever be an option, children need the activity in their lives. PE should be mandatory for everyone in school every year until they graduate. Nearly one-third of elementary schools do not schedule recess on a regular basis. Physical Education is an important factor in childhood obesity. â€Å"PE not only gives children the time to be active during schools, but it also teaches them how to be active throughout their lifetime† (American HeartAssociation). The American Heart Association is working to make sure each student in elementary and middle schools have physical education during their school days, also to make sure PE is required for high school students to graduate. Physical education is important for all children, if children do not play sports or exercise out of school then physical education classes are the only times children get the daily exercise they need. Being physically active helps children maintain a healthy weight and a healthy metabolism.Also children should practice healthy eating habits outside of school so that they will make the right choices in the lunch or snack lines. Children should have to take health classes while in middle and high school. Once children are in high school they are only required to take one general health class as credit to graduation. Children should not have such a choice in schools. Health classes provide information we need to make healthier decisions, such as what we eat, how much we eat, how we exercise and how long we exercise a day.Children attend school for eight to nine months a year for seven to eight hours a day; therefor schools play a large role in how children eat and how they exercise. What role does school take in childhood obesity? Children are in school 5 days a week for about 8 hours a day; therefor they are responsible for what the children consume and what activities take place. The school system needs to plan better meals and snacks for the children and also plan better activities for the children to participate in throughout the day.