Junk food at school contributes to childhood obesity, which can lead to long-term health problems. Many schools ban junk food from vending machines and lunch menus, but cost and calorie concerns remain. Schools should also implement physical education classes to promote exercise.
Obesity is a global epidemic that affects more than 300 million people. It can lead to long-term medical problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer. Junk food at school isn’t the only contributing factor to the condition, but it makes it easier for kids to overindulge in unhealthy choices, which in turn increases the risk of developing obesity. Many schools around the world ban junk food from vending machines and school lunch menus to help combat the problem.
One of the main problems with junk food at school is that children are often not supervised when making their lunch decisions. While there are usually school staff members overseeing general safety, no one is with each child to make sure they make the healthiest choices. If junk food is predominant on the menu, kids are more likely to choose those options, especially if their junk food intake is strictly limited at home.
Vending machines are another great source of junk food at school, and another unsupervised opportunity for kids to overindulge. While the problem is not as severe in elementary schools, where children rarely stay out of school hours for activities, in the upper grades it becomes more of a concern. After-school activities often end close to or after traditional dinner time, and unhealthy snacking from vending machines makes kids less likely to eat a healthy dinner.
A primary concern with banning junk food in schools is the cost involved in implementing the change, especially if schools are required to replace junk food with healthier options rather than simply eliminating the offending food. The main reason fewer healthy foods appear on school menus is that they generally cost less overall than fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods. Processed foods last longer, while fresh foods need to be replaced on an almost daily basis.
In some cases, the healthier options chosen by schools have just as many calories, if not more, than the unhealthy options. Fruit juice, for example, can be a problem for this reason; while an 8-ounce serving (approximately 0.24 liters) of apple juice contains 117 calories (kcal), the same size serving of cola contains 97 kcal. If reducing obesity is the main concern, switching to healthier foods alone won’t help if the food contains more calories than the junk food option. However, it can help kids break the cycle of sugar cravings and introduce much-needed nutrients into their bodies that they didn’t have before.
Despite the logistical problems of implementing a healthier food policy, eliminating as much junk food at school as possible helps children learn to make better food choices and discover healthy, good-tasting alternatives to their favorite sugary snacks. However, the researchers explain that eliminating junk food is not enough, and schools also need to implement physical education classes that explain to children the importance of exercise in an overall healthy lifestyle.
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