Good Nutrition in School

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Good Nutrition in School
Can Help to Fight Childhood Obesity

Perhaps you are trying to help your child lose weight,
or you feel he or she may be in danger of becoming
overweight or unhealthy because of their eating and
exercise habits.

If so, it is important that you consider the impact of
your child's time at school as you think about what
you need to change.

As the U.S. government has studied obesity, many of
their agencies have produced reports and established
guidelines to help parents and school systems
understand how to make important changes.
These guidelines are designed to encourage our
children to eat healthy foods and get plenty of
exercise.

Across the country, schools are beginning to offer
more good food choices, and look at their physical
education and extra curricular activities to ensure
that they encourage good habits.

Of course your involvement and understanding is
important if your child is going to get the right
support while she or he is in school during the day.
And, you need to ensure that your child understands
the importance of CHOOSING the healthy foods and
participating in exercise programs, but the first step
is to make sure these choices are AVAILABLE to your
child.

Working with medical organizations, the USDA published
a 'Prescription for Change', and 'Healthy School
Nutrition Environments'.

These reports were meant to be used by schools to
improve their nutritional program.
Here are some of the recommendations included in those
reports.

The Serving and Dining Environment

The Federal, State and local government must provide
adequate funding for food and eating environs to
support healthy eating.

Dining space will be adequate, pleasant and socially
accommodating, and will accommodate all students and
staff scheduled to eat at a certain time of day.

Serving areas will be sufficient to ensure that every
student has access to meals with a minimum of waiting
time, so that they have plenty of time to eat before
their next class.

The staff and administration of the school, AND the
students and parents will analyze the current
environment, working together to create a space that
matches the needs of all parties.

Nutritional Concerns Regarding Meals and Foods
Meals should comply with USDA nutritional standards
and guidelines, and students should have plenty of
food choices, with new foods introduced to keep the
menu interesting and healthy.

Food preparation and preferences should be varied
enough to comply with various tastes and ethnic
preferences or religious requirements.

Additional food and drink offered, over and above
meals served, e.g. vending machines and packaged '
snacks', will represent the 5 major food groups in the
Food Guide Pyramid.

Students must have designated lunch periods, long
enough for them to get their food and eat at a healthy
pace.

Lunch periods should be as close to the middle of the
day as possible and should allow time for
socialization and a relaxed eating pace.

All decisions made by the school system regarding the
type, variety and quantity of food and drink to be
sold in the school will be based on nutritional goals
and sound guidelines, NOT on the profit the school can
make.

Nutrition and Health Focused Curriculum
Kindergarten through Grade 12 classes should include
education and information on healthy eating habits and
the types of foods a child should eat to stay healthy
and help them grow.

Now that you understand the concerns and
recommendations of the USDA and the national medical
organizations, go to a school board meeting and talk
to the board members about what they are doing to
comply with these guidelines.

If you don't know what your child's eating environment
and food choices are, visit the school and find out.
Get involved with the PTA or PTO in your school system
and get to work!

Mary
Effective Parenting Skills
"How to Become the World's Greatest Mom or Dad
Without Putting Yourself to Wit's End In
Raising Happier Highly Successful Children!" ...more information click here 

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