Junk food ban at schools, the magic bean for obesity?
MSc. Fabiola Gutierrez Orozco August 26, 2010.
Faculty of Natural Sciences, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Mexico
Email: fabigtz@hotmail.com
Early this year, the Secretary of Education in Mexico proposed to ban high-caloric and low-nutrient value foods from school as a way to fight the increasing obesity rate among children, which in consequence, has produced higher incidence of chronic diseases such as diabetes.
But let us look at the whole picture. It has been demonstrated that diet alone is not the sole cause of obesity. Energy expenditure constitutes the other part of the equation when it comes to gaining or losing weight. In the end everything is about how much we eat versus how much energy we spend, and the problem is that we are eating way more than we are spending resulting in being overweight or obese.
So, how much do our kids actually exercise? It is true that they participate in so-called physical education classes, but, with all respect, has anyone looked at the teachers in charge of “educating” kids on exercising. From personal experience, most of them are clear examples of what not do, as many are either overweight or obese themselves. You know what they say, teach by example. The same applies to teachers in general. This means that kids might be getting the message that being obese is something normal, as judged by what they see around.
And what’s the real impact of prohibiting junk food in schools? TV commercials of junk food are abundant, and kids already spend less time exercising and more time in front of the TV, so not only are they not exercising, what they see while they are being couch potatoes encourages them to continue on with their bad habits. And while kids may be aware that they won´t be able to buy junk food at school, what happens when they are out on their own? And what about the parents that do not exactly understand (or don´t care) what is good or bad for their children`s health.
What about the commercials about junk food that make it appear you will be superheroes or football stars? Approximately 55% of TV commercials during the afternoon have to do with junk food advertising. Let’s say a kid watches only TV two hours a day (in the best case). This means that in one year he would be watching 12700 commercials about junk food and none about nutritional orientation.
It is important to recognize that prohibiting junk food at schools is one step forward in the fight against obesity, but we cannot expect that this fixes the whole problem. Promoting physical activity, educating parents, teachers, and kids on nutrition and health, and regulating TV advertising, are some of the variables that will have to be taken into account in formulating a global solution to the problem.
With respect to physical activity and the observation on the instructors being themselves obese, it is important to point out that in the 1970′s, in public schools in Mexico, the instructors were professionals that graduated from the Superior School of Physical Education. Some of us were even trained by instructors with national championships as part of their own achievements. Why and how this changed, I do not know, but definetely has had a major effect on our children’s health. One more variable to add to the model and, as shown by research, the hours the kids spend in front of the TV and/or videogame consoles is haighly correlated to obesity.