Today I read an article at the Times regarding a new legislation the Obama administration wants to introduce. Unlike most legislations, this one actually caught my attention. Its aim is to ban candy and sugary beverages from schools throughout the country in an effort to fight against child obesity.
I cannot help to feel skeptical about this initiative. Just because kids don’t have junk food in their schools, it doesn’t mean they’re not going to purchase it elsewhere. Think about it. The harder it is for us to get something, the more we want it.
Take my friend Camila. As an obese child, her parents kept every single candy bar in the house locked inside their kitchen cabinet. What did they get in return? Every day Camila would run to the grocery store and spent her entire allowance on the most fattening foods she could find. It wasn’t until her parents realized that teaching her healthy eating habits was more effective than prohibiting her from every single junk food in the world, that Camila finally achieved a healthy weight.
What I’m trying to say is that banning candy bars from schools is only going to make children crave them more. And, let’s face it, junk food is the easiest thing to get in this country. As Hardiner points out in his article, as soon as a school cafeteria got rid of its sweets two years ago, the school secretary’s candy cart became increasingly popular.
That being said, I do think it is important for schools to provide as many healthy options as junk food. Furthermore, cooked foods should use the best ingredients possible in order to ensure a good nutrition. Caloric tables and nutritional information should also be available in every school cafeteria.
Banning junk foods from high schools is not a solution for child obesity, but a mere cover up to the problem. In the real world children are constantly going to be surrounded by unhealthy food alternatives. Prohibiting sweets from schools is a relatively easy move. The Obama administration’s real duty lies in providing schools the necessary resources to teach children how to opt for a correct nutrition.
Again, good job finding an interesting story and having your own opinion on it. I lke the way you brought something from your own life (your friend) as an example. And I respect your counter intuitive position. But do a little more reporting. I would have liked to see the research that the Obmama initiative was based one - I know there are a lot of obesiety studies out there - and then maybe you could have found someone out there in the blogging world or another study agreeing that this isn't going to do any good. A scientific group or something. part of learning good blogging is learning to use the web to support your ideas. For next time! hc
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