School Vending Machines Are Making Students Obese
Let’s face it, kids in America are fat. In fact, almost 30% of them are obese! What is causing this obesity epidemic? Where is the fault? It is not fair to blame the children themselves; they are too young to make smart food choices when their parents are not around. And what happens when their parents are around? What are you teaching your children about healthy eating habits? You can do the best you can at home and serve a full, properly portioned meal at dinner time, but kids spend most of their day at school, where you have no control over what and how much they eat. We all know that school lunches are not the healthiest meals in the world. Foods processed with frozen meat and starches lack the essential fruits, vegetables, and whole grains that children need to maintain proper body weight. Where else do kids get food at school? The dreaded school vending machines are taking your kids’ money and making them fat.
The effects of eating junk food at school
There are many reasons why kids don’t need to eat junk food at school. It not only affects your physical health, it also affects your mental health. Eating a bunch of empty calories and processed junk doesn’t fill you up and drains you of energy. Children do not get any “value” from this type of food. It does not fuel their bodies or give them energy to function throughout the day. They will have a sugar rush followed quickly by a sugar crash that leaves them wanting another sugar “rush” and the vicious cycle continues. The same goes for salty, carb-laden snacks. Carbohydrates simply turn into sugar and have the same effect on a child’s metabolism. A junk food diet will also cause children to lose focus, feel sluggish, and perform poorly in class and on tests. Blood circulation can even slow down if you eat too much junk food and fat interferes with blood flow. Brain power can also be compromised as a constant diet of junk food will cause a lack of oxygen, nutrients and protein to the brain. Other effects include heart disease and high cholesterol. As you can imagine, having these health problems as a young child can have a huge impact on a child’s life in the long run. It is much more difficult to correct these health problems than to simply prevent them in the first place. Fat kids become fat adults, which is why more than 25% of Americans are obese. Learning proper eating habits as children will help them maintain a healthy weight and body fat percentage as they grow. School vending machines DO NOT help children choose healthy eating options.
Why do schools have vending machines?
It seems so obvious that if you remove vending machines in schools, kids will eat better. It’s not that simple, unfortunately. Our schools are terribly underfunded and vending machines offer them a stream of profit they need for their operating budgets. Schools receive money from the government under the National School Lunch Program that feeds more than 30 million children every day in more than 101,000 schools. But it’s just not enough. One dollar per student is not enough to provide them with a healthy meal. So schools complement cafeteria offerings by adding vending machines as another meal option for students. Vending machine profit margins are huge because the profit margin is so high. And students will visit the vending machines again and again because of the addictive power sugar and carbohydrates have on the body.
Store Changes for School Vending Machines
There is a light at the end of the junk food tunnel. Legislation is being voted on that could mark the end of the era of vending machines in schools. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act will give more money to schools and allow the Secretary of Agriculture to set nutrition standards for schools. Parents and schools can also play a huge role in our children’s eating habits. Schools can voluntarily remove junk food vending machines and/or replace them with healthy vending machines that offer kids nutritional options that fill them up and help them focus throughout the day. Parents, the real change must come from you. Start with the way you eat. Children watch what you eat and are more likely to listen to your nutrition advice if you eat healthy foods yourself. You can’t eat pizza and expect your kids to eat salad. Involve your children in preparing healthy meals. The more involved they are in the process, the more likely they are to eat something they normally don’t like. Perhaps most importantly, parents need to put pressure on their children’s schools to make the necessary changes. Most school administrators will simply let the vending machines remain in place if they are not encouraged to remove them. If you take a stand for your children’s health, schools will be forced to make a change.
We all know that change needs to happen to help our kids get back on track. They are just too fat and the fault lies with the schools and the parents. However, vending machines are the main culprits as they continue to supply our children with junk food that compromises their health and learning ability. Change must come from both parents and schools to remove these machines and improve our children’s chances in life. Your success in school, college, your professional life, and your health depend on it.
