Students Health

More than 30 million children go through school cafeteria lines every day in the United States and thanks to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which took effect in 2012, they are to no longer serve greasy pizza, burgers, and ice cream. Above is a picture of school lunches in France, they have actual fresh foods and they are gourmet and healthy. Meals must now be lower in fat, calories, and sodium and contain proteins, more fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. And kids from coast to coast are wrinkling their noses. From Kindergarten to 12th grade, children spend most of their time at school. School, what we adults think, is supposed to be the teachers of our children while we are at work. They feed them lunch, and possibly breakfast, five days out the week, keep them active, and teach them all about their body and health in health class. But, are they really taking care of them enough? Some schools fail to serve healthy foods, teach health class, or even provide enough time to be physically active. One in three kids are obese, that is reason enough to care about these children’s lives at school. Schools are one of the reasons that the younger generation has a fast growing obese rate. Since the beginning of time, schools were always a place we could trust. A place where we could send our kids off to without worry of what they may be learning, doing, or eating, but perhaps we should be. As the craving for fast food is growing, so is the demand for it. Some schools have taken advantage of this and brought fast food into their schools, providing it for lunch. Olathe West serves Minskey’s, Smoothie King, and Jimmy Johns. The school claims the kids are more likely to buy school food when they see brand foods. Schools get money from the National School Lunch Program for every meal they serve, but that money from the government only covers so much. To pay the rest of the lunch staff, facilities costs, and food, schools turn to the money they make by selling lunches and breakfast to their students. Student health is important, and it starts with early childhood. Student health is important, and it starts with early childhood. Many factors go into determining student health. One thing that determines the health of students is immunizations. Kids entering the school system need to be immunized. Children who are not immunized jeopardize other kids immunity and can become ill or cause others to become ill. There are a lot of other things that are important for student health. Students need to have food security with access to healthy food and they need to have adequate sleep. Kids who come from low income homes can struggle in school because they lack nutrition and sleep. Both nutrition and sleep are important for development. Screenings are done at schools that check students for hearing and for vision, but do we screen kids for nutrition and sleep habits? Most students will not approach a school nurse to tell them that they do not have a good place to sleep or that they do not eat healthy. In fact, a lot of kids do not know what healthy eating is. In order to promote student health, kids need to be taught how to live a healthy lifestyle. That includes being physically active, eating fruits and vegetables and avoiding junk food, and getting plenty of sleep.