It's Not That Simple

A Healthy Choice Posted by: Red, White and Blog
Although the arguments in her post are valid, there is another side to the argument. Unhealthy school food is not the only reason the youth of America today is obese, good nutrition starts at home. Let’s say that Congress passes the Child Nutrition Act and “greasy fries, pizza” etc… are replaced by healthy, organic meals and the vending machines are removed completely, this still wouldn’t solve the problem. If the kids don’t like the new healthier school food, they are not going to eat it, plain and simple. Younger students will start to bring their own lunch to school filled with snacks and sodas, and the older high school kids will go off campus to eat McDonald's, Taco Bell and other unhealthy fast food. This is essence counteracted the attempt to force the students to eat healthier. Then on top of that when the kids go home, they can eat whatever they want, mostly unhealthy fat filled foods. The Act in congress is too limited to have any real lasting effect of stopping childhood obesity. The real problem can either end or be caused by the parents. If the parents teach their kids healthy eating habits then the kids will be less afflicted with the chance of being obese. On the other hand, if they feed their children unhealthy fattening food, the kid will most likely follow that example as they grow, thus becoming obese. All in all, the Child Nutrition Act is not the answer to end child obesity, the task is much larger and in order to succeed parents need to get involved.