Junk Food In Schools

In America 20 percent of the population, which is around 60,000,000 are obese. “With this number about 300,000 of them die each year from either obesity or simply just being overweight (Codey).” Poor eating habits at an early age can lead to a lifetime of real health consequences. The best way to eliminate this problem that is occurring in our nation is to remove the catalyst that is causing the problem, in this case that catalyst being junk food. Besides the basic things students go to school for; reading, writing, arithmetic, school has a tremendous influence on a child’s life and is a place that teaches values and practices that students take into their lives outside of school as well, and practicing good food habits will lead to more healthy …show more content…
A study has shown that when primary school students consume three or more junk food meals a week literacy and numeracy score dropped up to 16 percent compared to the average (Paton). There is a significant relationship between regular consumption of bad foods and lowered test scores. Banning the sale of fatty and sugar filled foods in school canteens and vending machines could serve to benefit schools in the academic area which is something that all schools everywhere seek. Schools often bring up the topic of money when discussing this ban. Yes, schools do in fact make more money by selling the higher priced foods which just so happen to be unhealthy, but in all reality schools can save more money if they replaced the expenses of the processed foods. More money in a schools budget is a great thing and the extra money gained from not purchasing processed foods could be used for things such as workout equipment or improvements to the things and facilities they already have. It is possible to use the money spent to do things such as planting a school garden which would ultimately serve as a constant supply of healthy foods for the …show more content…
A person does not just all of a sudden just become overweight and or obese. These things are the outcome when bad eating habits become a part of one’s daily regimen at an early age. Along with the reading, writing and arithmetic taught in schools, the teaching of a healthy lifestyle is important to the wellbeing of people today. The first and one of the most important steps in doing so is looking into the foods that are being made available in schools. Banning junk food in schools has benefits that would be in favor of everyone. A healthy lifestyle is something that is not very popular in Americans today and fixing it at an early stage is something that would only serve to be beneficial to our nation and our