Removing Soft Drinks from Schools
Controlling what our children eat and drink at school is not an easy task, especially when teachers and parents accept and tolerate all the junk food and drinks that are available to our children from the vending machines that most schools provide. Today, when I look back at my experience with my own little ones, I notice that there didn’t used to be really a major problem in elementary school, perhaps because during that time my children were more dependent on me and I was able to prepare lunch for them most of the time and be aware of what they ate and drank. Nevertheless, some parents cannot be involved in their children’s eating habits for different reasons. I propose an experiment or trial in which unhealthy food substances, i.e. junk food and soft drinks, are replaced by better and more nutritious choices to demonstrate the correlation between the former and weight and body fat (obesity).
According to Behrman and Vaughan, “obesity or over nutrition is a generalized excessive accumulation of fat in subcutaneous and other tissues. Obesity may result from increases in number or in size of fat cells, adipocytes. Adipocytes appear to increase in number when caloric intake is increased” (168). Therefore, with this in mind, it can be reasoned that to a certain degree obesity can be prevented. It may also be inferred from the above that some students who follow a diet in school high in carbohydrates and fats will have more possibilities to be obese. Carbohydrates are found in desserts and sweets, so children at an early age should condition themselves not to have access to this kind of food at school. In addition, parents must be educated also to support this health issue and the government should enact a law to replace sodas, sugared drinks and junk snacks by water bottles, milk, low sugar drinks and snacks low in carbohydrates and high in proteins. Having mentioned this, it is important to know that “Resistance to insulin may occur in the obese and result in an increase in levels of circulating insulin. Insulin decreases lipolysis (fat breakage) and increases fat synthesis and uptake. The obese have an increased response to a carbohydrate meal and a decreased utilization of free fatty acids” (Behrman and Vaughan, 169). In fact, it is necessary to be aware that some schools that have already removed the soda vending machines but still offer other soft drinks to the students have not seen a noticeable change in sugar consumption, another reason why I suggest high sugar drinks also need to be removed to make a difference.
Indeed, even if the schools start removing just the soda machines, it will still be beneficial to the students’ health because it will encourage them to drink water more often, which is the best drink someone can use to quench the thirst and at the same time avoid loading the body with lots of sugar and too many calories. In addition, it would be of remarkable help that parents at home reinforce this issue and educate their children to know that the consumption of soft drinks must be controlled and allowed only on special occasions. “According to the USDA, the per-capita soft-drink consumption has increased almost 500% over the past 50 years. Soft drinks include soda, fruit-flavored and part-juice drinks and sports drinks. Soda is the soft drink most frequently consumed. The availability of soda in the U.S. now exceeds that of milk. This is a growing concern for children and adolescents” (Soft Drinks and School-Age Children).
It would be great if we could start a trial in our town schools where the soft drink vending machines would be replaced by water, milk, natural juices and low sugar sports drinks vending machines. Besides, the unhealthy snacks would be removed and replaced by healthy ones, some with good protein value and low carbohydrate content. Many times obesity in children is associated with excessive consumption of soft drinks and unhealthy snacks, so it would be important to follow up on this new experience in specific schools and report the results. Attention should be paid to encouraging students to drink milk in schools. According to Pillows, Claudia, and Annalise Roberts, “Soft drinks have replaced milk as the drink of choice for these children. As parents, we willingly comply, but the health effects on our own children and the financial burden on our health care system will be enormous. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes sodas are a major source of daily excess calories and a major cause of the increase in obesity rates in children and teenagers” (Health effects of Drinking Soda).
Due to all the above reasons, including not only research but also many well known facts, I believe strongly that my proposal should be taken into consideration as one way to do something to control this correlation between the consumption of soft drinks and obesity. We have to think ahead and try to avoid more serious consequences that may affect our children’s future. We all should know that “idealized weight is desirable not only for esthetic reasons but also to prevent such complications of obesity as diabetes, shortness of breath, and early death” (Behrman and Vaughan, 169).
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