District Initiatives to Improve Nutrition for Our Children

By: Renee A. Simon, MS, CNS
Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist and JJMS Parent

March is National Nutrition Awareness month; the district wide food service committee would like to take this opportunity to make you aware of changes that we are asking our schools and families in our community to make. According to a recent NY Times article, at least 17 states have enacted some legislation to improve nutrition in school meals.

The department of agriculture has recently revised the food pyramid and come out with new dietary guidelines. These guidelines emphasize less consumption of sugars, trans fats and more consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables along with daily exercise. The new guidelines are the tip of the iceberg and a new heath educational curriculum will soon follow.

Why is this an important topic? Statistics show that one in three children is overweight, and 15% of all kids in the U.S. are obese. Being overweight or obese increases the risk for heart disease, diabetes, certain types of cancers, breathing problems, and even psychological disorders such as depression. Studies indicate an estimated 40 percent of school aged children already possess at least one risk factor for heart disease, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol. Even if your children are not overweight, school age who eat healthy balanced meals and less junk food are sick less frequently, concentrate better in school and have overall better behavior.

Our district has made few improvements over the years in this area. We would like to work together as a community to achieve a higher food and health standards for our children.

Changes that the food committee is proposing follows:

1. Adding healthy options vending machines to the schools.
2. Offer healthier junk foods without trans fats, partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn sweeteners, high sodium content and artificial flavors and dyes. Offer real and 100% juice instead of Sunny Delight and Snapple.
3. Redesign the school cafeteria menu and show healthy choices.
4. Look at the ingredients of the foods that we use in the cafeterias. Eliminate foods with trans fats, partially hydrogenated oils, high sugar, and sodium. Find healthier alternatives.
5. Use whole grains, flax seed and luncheon meats without nitrates. The boar’s head deli sandwiches are popular. Switch to nitrate free luncheon meat, whole grain breads and wraps.
6. Emphasize health throughout the curriculum. Raise awareness about food, health, and exercise. Promote walking, hiking, bike riding and being out doors.
7. The middle school will be showing the movie Super-Size me at lunch and talking about it during home base. The edited version is available for all the schools to show to parents. Encourage everyone to see this movie.

As we work with our schools to provide healthier food and snack options in the cafeteria, we believe it is equally important to educate children in the classroom and at home to make better nutritional choices. When I meet with adolescents and young adults in my practice it’s all about empowering them with information so they can learn to take better care of themselves. Once they understand the link between better nutrition and healthy skin, more energy, improved learning and mood they more readily do what they need to do to enhance their diet.

As a family, many of the changes start with you as parents. If everyone in the house works together to improve their diet, this will trickle down to the school and community at large. While this may seem like a difficult task, even the CEO of PepsiCo stated in a recent Wall Street Journal article that soda; pizza and high fat snack foods are special occasion foods and should not be part of a regular diet. The following are some suggestions for getting started:

1. Eliminate or consciously decrease the amount of processed foods and foods with sugar or high fructose content. Examples are candy, cereals, soda, refined white flour products, and foods with dyes, colors or preservatives. Artificial sweeteners are equally harmful and should not be consumed. Don’t buy anything without reading the label.
2. Ensure your child is getting enough whole, natural and organic foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, unprocessed complex carbohydrates (like high fiber cereal, sprouted wheat bread and beans), quality protein and some nuts and seeds.
3. Make sure your child consumes enough pure water. I recommend 24 to 48 oz., depending on the weight of the child. This helps prevent dehydration and is particularly important for children who tend to be constipated. If your child is consuming mostly juice, it should be watered down to no more than a third of a glass of juice to two-thirds water. This will get them used to the taste.
4. Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fat (oils) should be avoided. They are in most snack foods. It is possible to find snacks with out these. Again read the labels on everything you buy. Studies show they contribute to heart disease, cancer and obesity. Substitute healthy fats like olive, canola, and flax oils and avocado, cold-water fish and nuts.
5. Keep healthy nutritious snacks available in your house. The following are some ideas: fresh fruit, cut up raw veggies that can be eaten with hummus, or low fat dips, low fat cheeses or yogurt, turkey wrapped with mustard, hard boiled eggs, whole grain crackers with natural peanut or almond butter, trail mix, granola bars.
6. Make sure that your children get plenty of exercise. Now that spring is coming, get the whole family together for a hike or bike ride and encourage kids to find outside games and sports instead of spending hours on the computer or in front of the T.V.

If you would like to join the food committee or hear about what we are doing to improve food in our school please email Mary Ann Petrilena at map26roc@aol.com. We will notify you of our progress, meetings and give you information about the coalition for better food in our schools.