Healthier school lunches

More than half the schools around the country never have and maybe never will serve healthier food in their school lunch system. Whether it's an elementary school for young children, middle school for teens, or high school for young adults. One thing will never change, and that is the high calorie food that is served in lunch rooms.

But what would be a reason for healthier foods to be served? That's easy! According to the healthy eating website from San Francisco California, statistics show children benefit in a variety of ways from better food choices. (Link here: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/reason-healthier-school-lunches-3687.html) students have improved in academic achievement. Better healthier foods depletes the brain supply for more energy to learn. 

If just one school can benefit from the idea of a better school lunch program, one school can change the outcome for others. It promotes better nutrition and that the school system actually cares for its students health. Making this simple choice can change a child's eating habits for a lifetime. But also the reverse is true as well. Thinking about it, if a child were to easily be addicted to fast foods entirely, think of what kind of future can happen if they grow up continuously eating fatty foods.

Fast Food Galore!

Fast food franchises have one job and one job only, and that it to continue to make their company a success around the world!

Fast food companies are always in competition with each other. One company steals or copies an idea which causes other companies to expand beyond the original food they serve. Each year fast food places are always trying to figure out ways to expand on their menu's. By expanding, the customers can either have a positive response to the food, or bad. 

For example according to the website FastFoodWatch.com, (link here: http://www.fastfoodwatch.com) it shows that companies with similar food like Burger King and McDonald's, and Taco Bell and Del Taco are always head to head trying to add new ingredients and new foods to their menu. Sometimes these places add food that you would never expect to be served on the menu.

Desserts, breakfast, and sides are the most expanded parts of the menu. Whether it's a bigger food portion, or a new breakfast sandwich, these fast food places think of the craziest ideas! I was surprised to hear that Pizza Hut and dominos added sandwiches to their menu! Seriously if I wanted a cheap sandwich I would have went to subway !

But bigger does not necessarily mean better. Just yesterday I heard that Pizza Hut came up with a new crust idea for their menu. They added pies to their crust! Sounds ridiculous so maybe that's why it's only sold in Australia for now. But if it gets positive feedback it could possibly come to the U.S.

Fast Food Portions: Then VS. Now

The portion size of a regular meal is always important to consider when eating any meal of the day. It is most important that kids get the right amount of food in their body to keep them fit and healthy for when they grow up.

Over the years though, the portion of food in both schools and fast food chains have grown substantially! An average meal is about 4 times larger than those of the 1950'd according to huffington post about the differences in meal sizes.(Link here: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/1539804) 

The bigger be size does not always mean a good thing. Companies and school chose to expand on their meals values not only to attract more customers, but to raise more money. An average person gains more weight each meal they consume. They weigh about 26 more pounds heavier than those 26 years ago.

Some of you may wonder, what is an good portion size to eat from? The answer is simple. About one portion size is enough to feed a person each meal. A portion like this is similar to the size of a Deck of playing cards. People do not understand though, even if it does not completely fill you up, it does not necessarily mean you didn't get enough food for your metabolism. It's important to take into consideration food sizes than how much food you want to satisfy yourself.

Casino Buffets

Today my family and I always go to Suncoast Buffet for their unlimited supply of crab legs. But have you ever wondered if they're food is freshly cooked or just heated up again when it's time for their opening. 

Friday's are always the busiest days for the buffet. Everyone loves the crab legs. But I've always noticed the different styles people come up with in experimenting with the food. On the side of the crab the first thing you notice is a jumbo bowls of heated melted butter. Over the course of my dinner I noticed that when you let the butter sit, you realize the amounts of fats that are absorbed. It's quite frightening to know that these kinds of fats are in the food we eat, even when we think it's healthy. 

I also came upon the salad bar. The first thing you think of when you hear about salad is healthy. But actually most salads also contain high calories similar to the food we eat. At this bar there's cheese, the different dressings, croutons, and different toppings such as nuts, fruits, and veggies. When people put together their salad they drown the lettuce in dressing and add double the cheese that a normal salad would have! Mine as well make it a nacho grande! 

The fact is people think they're eating healthy, but they don't pay attention of the additives that take away the nature of the food. This is a good example of why fast food doesn't seem as harmful in people's eyes. It seems that our society just doesn't want to face the food reality.

Senior BBQ

How did students react when they heard what is being served at the senior barbecue? What was served as side dishes? How many students got seconds?

Today was the class of 2015's annual senior BBQ. Today was a day to grub, hang out with friends, but mostly eat.. Each year the food choices are different, but this year the food choices seemed to be a bit extreme even with the sides included!

Each student was put in line to get a cheeseburger, turkey dogs, or beef hotdogs. After the main course, we were given choices of cotton candy, lollipops, popcorn, potato chips, and of course the condiments necessary for the food. 

Surprisingly as we were talking about the food choices in our 4th period class, one student actually  made a reference to the book Fast Food Nations. I quote "ew I'm not going to eat any of the food they cooked up there. Our class is reading Fast Food Nation and I don't trust the meat?" I was surprised I wasn't the only one impacted by the book! I have to admit upon completion, I thought very hard about the next time I was going to get fast food.

But for other students, they finished their first meal in a little under 10 minutes. I repeat...10!!!! Once they shoved all that food down their throat all they cared about was getting seconds even thirds! Of course all the food was finished before the BBQ was even half done. 

Even though it was a nonprofit celebration, students were easily bought over with the food selection of candy and BBQ. Today I was able to witness first hand how our generation of young adults choose to eat. 

Fast Food is the Enemy

How can fast food be considered an enemy? Why is it to blame? What can we avoid eating when it comes to fast food? 

Fast food is considered an enemy among our society for various reason! One, it's fake, processed foods. Two, eating these food continuously can lead to life long diseases. Three, high fast food rates lead to higher obesity rates among children, young adults, and adults in the USA. 

Maybe of the famous burger choices at fast food places contain high amounts of fats in them. According to the Obesity Action Organization ( link here: http://www.obesityaction.org/educational-resources/resource-articles-2/nutrition/fast-food-is-it-the-enemy)

each burger on the menu contains :

• McDonalds Big Mac: 540 calories and 29 g of fat
• Burger King Whopper: 670 calories and 40 g of fat
• Wendy’s Bacon Deluxe Double: 880 calories and 52 g of fat
• Taco Bell Nachos Bell Grande: 770 calories and 24 g of fat

It may sound bad already, but don't forget each of these meals come with a side of fries, sauces, and drink high in calories. These foods are highly processed, full of fat, calories and sodium. You could easily take in 1,500 calories from just one meal alone. Just one meal of these a day lead to weight gain and can lead to other health conditions like heart disease.

There is no exact answer to obesity and how it can be stopped. Obesity is a serious disease and the only way for it to be lowered is for communities to come together to plan out healthier eating habits. Many Americans eat out every day! If that is you, make a plan to cut down and prepare a meal or two at home and see how it goes. 

Best ways to handle the unhealthy fat food are to use substitutes or plainy just say no! Avoid sauces they add even twice the calories to foods. Substitutes fries when necessary pick salads, fruits or healthier sides when available. Most importantly try to limit the portions available to you! Ever heard of the "super size" at McDonald's?! Thank god it was taken off the menu! If society can change the way McDonald's changed their menus, as a whole imagine what actions can be done to change the high obesity rates and who knows the fast food nation!

Fast Food Health Risks

 How does fast food affect the nutritional lifestyle among kids? What are some of the long term diseases kids can have? 

Now that our world has been taken over the fast food nation, kids as young as two years old already eat bits and pieces of fast food once those teeth come growing in. But many don't understand that having kids become comfortable eating fast food on a daily can actually have a serious health effect to their diet.

SF Gate's article about health risks of fast food gives readers a clear picture of what is to come. (Link here: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/statistics-health-risks-eating-fast-food-3290.html ) the articles explains hat if kids who continuously east fast food from a young age can eventually suffer from weight gain, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular conditions by regularly eating fast food can be a dangerous thing.

Weight gain and obesity is one of the top 10 killers among the U.S. With vast amounts of fast food we give our kids who knows what can happen to their diet as they grow. Type 2 diabetes can happen in fast food eating becomes a serious habit. But cardiovascular complications and conditions is most important to watch out for. Fast food restaurants are 2.62 times more likely to have extremely high levels of hospitalization for coronary problems. But those who rely on a fast food diet full of fats, oil and sugar have an increased chance of death.

Low nutritional values is what ultimately causes a variety of health problems.not only can fast food affect a child's body physically but also mentally. More kids who eat fasts foods can gain weight faster, which leads to a decrease in self esteem causing them to become very lazy. It is wise to keep our children away from fast foods, but we all know how hard it is to stay away so think of a schedule. Home cooked meals are much healthier for our bodies than the ones we buy at restaurants. If a child is to eat fast food it should be at least 2-3 times a week at most. Explain to your kids while they are still young to watch their eating habits, we don't want our next coming generation to have any of these health problems! 

Fast Food Schools

With fast food franchises taking over schools nationwide, is it a safety hazard for students to be eating food from school? How have fast food corporations able to sell their products to schools?

Before around my time, my our school lunches looked overwhelmingly more healthier that what school cafeteria food looks like today. We had veggies, fruits, milk, and salad served with our lunches everyday. The portion of healthier foods were served much bigger before than it is today. It wasn't until I reached middle school where I noticed food carts and student snack stores were open with a variety of fast serving foods like pizza, Panda Express meals, cookies, chips, and occasionally some tacos or burritos with nachos on the side.

It amazes me to see how much school Cafeteria food has changed as a new generation came about. Now, in high school, there are soda machines, fast food caters from all over Vegas, ramen cups, and various vending machines serving Candy and chips. 

According to the Public School Review Board (link here: http://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/why-fast-food-is-healthier-than-school-lunches-the-shocking-usda-truth) schools decided to have fast food caters serve their food in our schools for faster money, and it requires less cooking in the kitchen. But what bugs me about this article is she fact the school board seems to be supporting the idea of fast foods catering to schools thinking it is "safer" than those of school food. 

Under the cafeteria food

What is actually contained in cafeteria food?  Is school food actually healthy for students? What can be done to change this problem?

I admit, I love cafeteria food! There are different food choices that I can never find myself eating at home. But are these food really what they appear to be? They may look and sound good, but many of us don't pay much attention to what is really contained in the food.

Students agree school foods should always taste better and so does the government. But these government officials who regulate what is served in our school can care less about the health and only about the money. It is said about 20% of students are diagnosed with obesity just from the food they eat at school! 

As students grow up they tend to buy school cafeteria food more than bringing homemade food to school. In elementary school days kids thought bringing lunch is better than school lunch. Kids thought showing off foods meant better tasting foods. 

According to the news article by the blog food facts (link here :http://thefoodfactss.blogspot.com/2012/05/truth-about-cafeteria-food_28.html?m=1) , most student lunches contain the "pink paste" that many of us see as a health hazard. We may think school foods can be trusted, but boyyyy we were wrong! Nowadays fast food companies flood our hallways everyday as students rush and race to be the first in line.

If only school programs allowed the teaching of food and health, there could have been a possibility for better foods and healthier food choices to be made. Less sugar and more fruits, less fats, and more veggies. Side dishes that are considered "healthy" should have bigger portions than what is actually served.

Fast Food Advertisements

What makes advertisements most appealing to the younger community? What do these advertisements show to make kids more trusting of these fast food?

Sure you see a commercial with a big juicy cheeseburger with thinly cut crunchy fries with a delectably juicy dipping sauce on the side. Sounds tasty right??? But come to think of it the food is the last thing the kids really want. Little do people know though, fast food chains use a smart tactic to attract kids to buy their food that is used in every child commercial when fast food advertisements are shown on tv.

According to Time Magazine's Article about how fast food contain giveaways for kids, this is just a marketing tactic. ( link to the magazine here: http://healthland.time.com/2013/08/29/forget-the-food-fast-food-ads-aimed-at-kids-feature-lots-of-giveaways/) 

Commercials for their kids meals are less likely to advertise the food products and mostly advertise the toys and sponsors that associate with the business. By using this marketing tactic kids are "tricked" to ask their parents to buy the food...but only for the toy! 

I've come to this conclusion because I witnessed it first hand. Like all of you in this world you have a little sibling, whether boy or girl when they see a TV add they instantly go nagging to our parents to buy them it. My parents actually gave in and bought my sister a happy meal with a My Little Pony doll inside. But of course with one look of the doll she throws away the food immediately! 

Parents should explain to their children that these TV ads are not always what they seem. By giving into these requests by your kids, you are contributing to the fast food franchise by buying their products! 

Under the Fast Food influence: Looking into the mind of a child

Marketing Fast Food to Children

 

 

Why do fast food chains mostly market to kids and teens? What makes them most targeted? Why are kids and teens most attracted to these fast food advertisements?

 

 

Each and every day fast food franchises such as Mcdonalds and Burger King are most aimed to children ages six and under. I remember seeing those commercials that advertised Ronald Mcdonald telling children to buy Mcdonalds and their kids meals since their chicken nuggets were made of 100% meat and their fries are all naturally grown and cooked. Little do kids know though, what they eat are high in calories and oil substances that make their food a hazard to children's health.

 

According to Yale's News column (http://news.yale.edu/2013/11/04/fast-food-companies-still-target-kids-marketing-unhealthy-products) In just 2012 $6.4 billion advertisements were all in favor of unhealthy foods. Children ranging from the ages of six to eleven saw 10% of ads for fast food while teens saw five ads everyday on TV. Healthier kids were advertised by few restaurants and fast food ads were only viewed to kids. But fast food advertisements are spread even more today through social media and mobile devices.

 

Kids and teens are attracted to what the food brings to the plate. Since the start of putting toys in every kids meal, fast food that children eat have increased. Although healthier alternatives have been created such as apple slices and milk have been added to the meals, I believe there should be a limit to the amount of advertisements kids and teens are targeted for. Advertisements should be showed in a way so the community can take advantage of their vulnerabilities and choose a healthier choice.