The issue of childhood obesity is difficult to control because the change does not have to happen in just one person or group of people. Much of the blame falls on the parents for not providing kids with healthy food and educating them about what to eat. Schools have let kids down by providing candy and soda very easily for so many years. Companies make unhealthy foods and snacks that target kids as well. I think the school in Philadelphia is taking positive steps towards helping their students become healthier. Implementing education about healthy eating into gym class at a young age is important because kids need to learn the right amounts of food for their body. I'm reminded of the lunchroom we discussed during the behavior change topic in class about nudging people to make decisions by putting fruit at eye level for example. Public health needs to take advantage of this more to try and curve children's behavior because if they can promote healthy eating at school, this will eventually carry over to their home as well.
Childhood obesity is affecting the overall health of our population. More people are becoming diagnosed with diabetes and heart disease at a younger age. A healthy lifestyle that starts as a child can translate into better health as an adult. Childhood obesity is probably on of the major reasons this generation has a lower life expectancy than their parents. It is important for schools to also teach eating everything in moderate amounts. There is nothing wrong with having a soda or candy bar every once in a while, but making these very accessible to kids everyday will not help the problem. Kids are going to buy what they like to eat best, and that usually does not include fruit. Making candy and soda more expensive and fruit a little cheaper may be a way to change the behavior of the kids in the school. After reading this article, I am wondering what is the best way to teach kids to eat healthy without taking away all their options for meals at school? Also, what role can public health/government play in changing the options that are offered?
I think that the questions raised after this article pose valuable issues that need to be addressed in regards to childhood obesity. One of the main things that can be done to change eating patterns without forcing kids to make different choices is to examine what attracts them to the unhealthy food, such as a sugary taste or fun packaging, and instead apply this to better alternatives. I've noticed lately that health foods are starting to not having the distinctly "healthy" looking packaging, instead some are trying to appeal to people who wouldn't normally choose healthy foods by utilizing bright colors and graphics. This implies that the taste is better for consumers as well.
ReplyDeleteAnother component of having kids eat better foods is something that I've seen at my service learning site, Cornerstone, which is that it's not enough to tell kids about food choices, you have to actively show and engage them. At Cornerstone, the classrooms don't just have the food pyramid on a poster. Instead, every snack time includes a fruit and either dairy or carbohydrate, and the teachers then tell the kids about what's good for them in their meal. The kids get excited about this and are encouraged to share how eating something like apple slices makes them feel good too. I think that through active engagement like this, good eating habits can be instilled and through the implementation of similar programs, help fight childhood obesity.
I like this article because it really highlights the amount of work public health has yet to do in order to decrease issues such as obesity outside the political arena. I really liked how you talked about ways schools should encourage good food decision making, such as keeping apples visible to students. It all relates back to that idea of "paternal libertarianism" and how public health is really losing its battle here to food companies.
ReplyDeleteAlso though I think another important aspect that people need to face is the disconnect that has grown between people and their food. Nowadays everything comes pre-packaged, even some vegetables and fruits come in shrink-wrap. I think this has a big impact on how people association what food is and where it comes from. Especially in urban areas where obesity is already a larger issue, finding fresh and healthy fruits and vegetables is foreign to many people. If we want to get people to eat healthy and choose the right foods, we probably should package and distribute it the same way we do for unhealthy foods.