The Impact of Obesity on United States Health and Fitness
High charges of obesity have been responsible for unites states fitness outcome declines and rapid amplify of healthcare costs. The unavailability and unaffordability of healthy food have improved the obesity epidemic.
Prevalence of Obesity among American Youths
According to the ‘U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention's third of American youths are obese and suffering from obesity. Therefore, requires the changes made for the meals regulations in public schools.
Importance of Providing Healthy Diets in Schools
Providing healthy diets to kids helps them stay alerted during class, combat illness, and grow into robust and healthy adults. However, the school teenagers are getting half the food they require every day, making school a place to furnish learnings of obtaining healthy habits. Therefore, ‘National School Lunch Programme’ and ‘the School Breakfast Programme’ have been providing healthy meals to millions of American children. According to the united states Department of Agriculture, through the healthy, ‘Hunger Free Kid’s Act,’ major changes have been made to serve healthy and nutritious meals in these programs.
Previous Studies on American Children's Diet and Physical Activity
There have been previous research studies showing majorly American children have not been consuming a healthy diet as per the recommended dietary guidelines and neither has been achieving the adequate daily physical activity resulting in overweight children than ever in American history (Story, 2009). Government agency has been recommended by the Institute of Medicine and Center or Disease Control and Prevention to provide food and beverages following the nutrition standards (Onufrak, 2016). The recent studies revealed there has been an implementation of healthy vending policy in California to change the type of beverages available in the vending machine and there has been a 7% decrease in the usage of unhealthy beverages. It has been suggested a healthy vending policy can have an impact on the type of beverages being served in schools and parks (Narain, 2016).
Proposed Research and Study Focus
Therefore, a metanalysis of the previous studies can be conducted in order to understand the obesity rates in the United States children, the relevant policies, and steps being taken by the government and followed by the institutions, the future implementations, regulations needed to cover the loopholes and amendments required for the change of food plans in public schools as a main focus of the study.
References
Narain ,K., Mata, A., & Flores, J. (2016). Nutrition Policy Decreases Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in Municipal Parks: Lessons Learned From Carson, California. J Public Health Manag Pract, 22(4), 392-4.doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000000301.
Onufrak, J.S., Zaganjor, H., Moore, L.V., Carlson, S., Kimmons, J., & Galuska, D. (2016). Nutrition Standards for Food Service Guidelines for Foods Served or Sold in Municipal Government Buildings or Worksites, United States, 2014. Prev Chronic Dis, 13(172).
Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of law. Food in schools. Retrieved from http://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/topics/healthy-eating/food-schools
Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of law. Healthy eating. Retrieved from http://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/topics/healthy-eating
Story, M., Nanney, M. S., & Schwartz, M.B. (2009). Schools and Obesity Prevention: Creating School Environments and Policies to Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity. The Milbank Quarterly, 87(1), 71–100.
United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Services. Nutrition Standards for School Meals. Retrieved from https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/nutrition-standards-school-meals
