To Your Health:
Improving Our Children’s
Nutrition At School
By Nancy DiMarco,
Ph.D.
One of my biggest
areas of concern is school food service. So many of our children depend on
it for at least some of their daily food intake.
According to the United
States Department of Agriculture, in 2001, more than six billion lunches,
breakfasts and after school snacks were provided to more than 27 million school
children. This program costs the American public $7.9 billion each year, and
for my dollars, it seems counterintuitive to be promoting foods in school
that do nothing but encourage poor eating habits and obesity.
Granted, federal nutrition
standards were “modernized” in 1995 — limiting fats to less
than 30 percent of total calories per meal and saturated fats to less than
a third of total fat on the menu — but the fat content of school foods
is still above these standards. And although school districts must relinquish
some control to be reimbursed for free and reduced meal programs and to receive
commodity foods from the USDA, local school districts still exercise a great
deal of power when it comes to what is served.
The Economic Research
Service, a division of the USDA, released their findings in July about some
of the ways school districts can improve the nutritional climate of their
food service:
They also gave some
suggestions as to how these three areas might be addressed.
Increasing fruit and
vegetable consumption among children is a primary goal because these are the
most under-eaten items on the Food Guide Pyramid and the foods most likely
to be discarded in a school cafeteria. They suggest that young people need
more choices to increase the possibility that they might actually eat something
healthy.
The report states
that when the Oregon school nutrition administration developed a “Food
Pyramid Choice Menu” that provided a minimum of six fruit and vegetable
choices each day, their plate waste decreased by as much as 36 percent and
students’ consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains increased
dramatically.
The second item that
received attention was actually asking students their opinion about the menu
and how to reduce plate waste. When students participate, they take greater
ownership and responsibility. A third way to increase fruit and vegetable
consumption in schools is to increase the use of “farm to school”
produce that focuses on local producers.
Scheduling of meals
also is important in reducing plate waste and increasing overall consumption
of healthier foods.
A national survey
reported in 2001 in the Journal of School Health showed that more than 40
percent of elementary schools had recess immediately after lunch. The most
frequently cited reasons for children wasting their food was: attention on
recess (78 percent), did not like the food (65 percent), did not like the
way food looks or tastes (50 percent), not enough time to eat (44 percent)
and not hungry (42 percent).
These are just some
of the areas under local control in school districts that could and should
be addressed. Providing nutrition education also should be a high priority
for school districts if we are to stem the tide of obesity and other lifestyle
disorders.
Tying nutrition education
to school food service is an obvious way to get the message across. The Eureka,
Calif. school district has gone a step farther than any I’ve seen and
I believe it could serve as a model to any school district with the vision
and fortitude to proclaim that children’s health is far more important
than being politically correct. Its plan calls for a swift departure from
vending machines, fast food services and junk food items being offered in
the schools.
Foods sold on their
campuses include milk and dairy products (cheese, yogurt, frozen yogurt and
ice cream); fruit juice (containing at least 50 percent juice), vegetable
juices; fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruits and vegetables; nuts, seeds,
and nut butters; and non-confection grain products (crackers, bread sticks,
tortillas, pizza, pretzels, bagels, muffins and popcorn). No more than 35
percent of the calories in the food products (except nuts and seeds) can come
from fat, and no more than 35 percent of the weight of an item (except fruits
and vegetables) can come from sugar.
During school hours,
food sales and/or vending machines cannot dispense candy, high fat chips,
sodas or drinks that contain caffeine or a high concentration of sugar. The
only beverages that can be sold to students are water, milk, 100 percent fruit
juice, sports drinks or fruit based drinks that have at least 50 percent fruit
juice and no added sweeteners. You can download the entire report at www.eurekacityschools.org.
The Texas Department
of Agriculture took the first step toward combating the alarming trend of
obesity in children by issuing a new “foods of minimal nutritional value”
policy in July. The new rules prohibit elementary schools from serving, selling
or even giving students FMNV anytime during the school day. Middle schools
are prohibited from serving or selling FMNV during meal periods. And middle
schools also are prohibited from serving or selling carbonated drinks larger
than 12 ounces anytime during the school day.
Children will be able
to bring foods of minimal nutritional value to school with them, but for their
own consumption only.
As I said, this is a good first step. But school districts and parents can
do more to help ensure our children will live long, healthy lives.
Nancy DiMarco,
Ph.D., R.D., L.D. is a research professor in the Department of Nutrition and
Food Sciences and coordinator of the master’s degree program in Exercise
and Sports Nutrition at Texas Woman's University. She may be reached at ndimarco@twu.edu.
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Information Contact:
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Tel: (940) 898-3456
e-mail: rkron@twu.edu