Surgeon General David Satcher weighed in last week on the obesity issue, saying that the obesity epidemic in the US has gotten so bad that it soon may overtake tobacco as the leading cause of preventable deaths. According to the article, 300,000 people die each year from illnesses directly related to being overweight. 300,000?!?! 60 percent of adults and 13 percent of children are overweight or obese. We are becoming a nation of fat people at an estimated cost of $117 billion per year.
Among his many recommendations was this one:
Ensure that more food options that are low in fat and calories, as well as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or non-fat dairy products, are available on school campuses and at school events. A modest step toward achieving this would be to enforce existing U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations that prohibit serving foods of minimal nutritional value during mealtimes in school food service areas, including in vending machines.
I’ll leave it to the experts to dissect the food, but restricting students’ access to junk is a no-brainer. Get rid of the vending machines! Or at least replace the sodas and candy bars with something healthy. Cripes. Are you telling me that kids can’t get through a school day without a soda or candy bar between classes?