I got a 92 out of 100. I have since fixed all the errors. Also it was in MLA Format but when you cut and paste it into a blog, not so much. This first essay we had to answer some questions too, so that is why there are paragraphs about me and what I hope to learn etc. Essay two is due Tuesday the 15th and as soon as I get it back I will post it as well. With all the other little assignments turned in I have a 95% in the class so far (and that is because we have only had 165 points possible so far and I have only missed 8 points out of that 165- which was on this essay. By the end of the class there should be a total of 850 points possible or something like that). Only 2 papers to go (after the one turned in on Tuesday which is already written) several more busy work, in class, little assignments, and one Annotated Bibliography. Six and a half classes left and that half class is really only an hour and it is just picking up our final graded research paper.
April Bohlin
Professor Butler
English 201
01 July 2008
Are Schools to Blame for Childhood Obesity or is it the Parents who “Feed” the Problem?
A Smucker’s Uncrustables Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich (fast, easy, and convenient, already prepared just grab from the freezer and go), a grab bag size of Doritos, Capri Sun, and a Ding Dong. This is example of an average lunch brought to school and eaten on a daily basis by millions of children nationwide. Some parents justify sending their children to school with these unhealthy items thinking that at least it is better than the pizza and french fries still served in many school cafeterias today, and other parents just do it for convenience. School lunches, as unhealthy as they can be, are not completely to blame for the rise in childhood obesity. With many schools revising their menus to include more healthy options for students, the parents are now the ones who need to take a long, hard look at their own pantries and what they put in those brown paper bags that their children grab on the way out to catch the bus.
School cafeterias have always been associated with greasy, fattening foods that children love to eat and more and more parents are sending their children to school with cash instead of a lunch box out of convenience. Also, in most households these days, both parents work so they do not have time to make their children a healthy lunch. In answer to this dilemma, parents send money for school lunch or children’s favorites high in calories, fats, sodium. and preservatives. With these options, how are children supposed to learn to make good choices in the foods they eat? Many schools are seeing the need to minimize the amount of junk food they sell to help with the rising numbers of obese students walking around their halls. Peggy McConnell, a school official at Parklawn School in Alexandria, VA, where they have undergone the transformation to healthier foods, noticed, “The brown-haired boy unpacking his lunch he brought from home. Among the offerings: Gatorade and a 99-cent bag of Lay’s potato chips, which by itself is 360 calories, 210 of them from fat... ‘See?’ she says ‘This is what we are up against’” (qtd. in Aratani). The way children eat can be broken down to two parts. One part is learned by example and the other is availability. Often they are not taught to eat healthy and because the world is too busy, dinner is served in the drive through at McDonalds, and the only choices at home or school are high in fat. How will they learn?
I chose this topic of childhood obesity because I plan to study and graduate with a degree in Nutrition. I am a runner and an avid believer in living a healthy lifestyle. Don’t get me wrong, I love dessert just as much as the next person, but for the most part I try to be good. When I was younger I knew nothing about this topic. I did not care what I ate. I loved pizza, candy, ice cream and fast food. I don’t even think I thought about my weight until I was out of high school. If we develop good habits early in life, it is easier in the long run. Studying nutrition will also help me to know what I should and shouldn’t eat on a higher level besides just trying to read labels on foods. I hope with this degree I can help others make better life choices pertaining to food and exercise and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
I plan to research the causes of childhood obesity, how it can be reversed and or prevented, and how weight can be an issue in these children’s lives. I would like to find out if other factors come into play such as race, social class, location and gender. I also plan to research what methods are being used today to help these children live healthier lives.
I hope to learn and understand why childhood obesity occurs and to help those struggling with this problem. Also to be able to use the information when I have my own children someday, so they will not have to deal with some of the issues facing overweight children, such as ridicule from peers, health problems or just not being able to do the things they want to do because their weight holds them back. I hope to be able to educate others, as well, on the dangers of being obese.
As part of my research about childhood obesity, my first step was to look at the places children are getting most of their food. Are these foods they are being exposed to at school hurting them or are the parents not taking enough interest to what is going into their children’s mouths? I know we live in a society that is go go go all the time but there should always be time to be healthy. It is so easy to grab an apple or some carrot sticks, or to drink water instead of a soda pop. There is no excuse to choose anything but a healthier option. Schools are starting to make more healthy choices available for the students but it must be remembered that children will be influenced by the example of their parents who perhaps need to change their eating habits as well.
Works Cited
Aratani, Lori. “Slimming Down Schools; A la Carte Menus, Parents Often Thwart Cafeteria
Makeovers.” The Washington Post. 21 May 2008: B1. ProQuest. Bellevue Community College Library, Bellevue, WA. 26 Jun 2008
.
