I agree with you. In addition though, let's look at price. Where I live it's $2.50 for lunch, and $1.50 for breakfast. Portions are extremely small. This article focuses on the foods being full of sugar and salt, but fail to mention EXACTLY how much an average meal contains in comparison to daily values, etc. They blame the food, but focus on vending machines. Could that be because the food meal isn't large enough to be harmful? At the same time, how many vending machines do you see at elementary schools? Not many, because little kids dont have as much to spend as a 16 year old at a high school would. Even in that case, old enough to drive a vehicle that could kill someone, and old enough to have a job, yet not old enough to choose their own foods. My point being, you can't make a blanket policy regarding the health value of school foods. You also can't ignore portion size, price/value of the food offered, etc.

There was a lot of information left out of this article. Personally, the day my son ends up eating bread and fruit and them calling it a meal is the day we homeschool him. He's very active, plays constantly, and burns tons of calories. he needs those calories, he's already thin to an unhealthy degree and eats all the time. It's about parental involvement. It takes no effort to go to the office and get a school cafeteria menu. I have one on my fridge. If I don't like what's on the menu, it's my option as a parent to send him to school with a sack lunch. Parental apathy causes your kids to be fat.

Limit the video games, kick them in the backside and send them outside to play to burn off the extra handles. That's what my parents did when I spent too much time in front of the TV, and I lost weight. I got a belly on me in middle school from too much TV and video games. It got burned off real quick once I was forced to endure a thing called sunlight. More government regulation is not going to solve the problem. Get involved. Get informed. Get a clue. Healthy kids start at home, not a government office or a school policy.

I have to agree with Russelim. It is the fact that there are vending machine in schools. It has nothing to do with food that a school serves. Its more to blame on vending machine. Plus, the school is to blame for allowing the vending machine. Also, schools are getting rid of a kid Physical Education classes these days. Thats another problem right there. Kids need at least a 1 hour, three day of Phys Ed...Also, I feel that kids aren't getting enough food for lunch. When I was in school, I went to school with a full lunch. I had a drink, such as milk, juice, an apple, and a sandwich. The government should not be forcing us to follow a diet. It should be parents that force there kids to adhere to that diet.

ex TeaParty Member

Lets see, The majority of this junk is sold in the red south states, obesity and Highest Dropout Rates, no wonder these people listen to the BS of the GOP, keep them ignorant and fat

The only ignorance I see at the moment is this post of yours derailing a discussion on child health and government regulation on food. What that has to do with your political beliefs and prejudice towards southerners is beyond me. Stay on topic, and try to keep your left leaning hatred in check. This is about our kids and our government's priorities regarding them

most lunches are not made on site anymore and the ingredients label from the can or package. Part of that has to do with cost because real food costs more as well as the time to make it.

My point being, you can't make a blanket policy regarding the health value of school foods.

I disagree.

how many vending machines do you see at elementary schools? Not many, because little kids dont have as much

The first part is contradictory to the findings of the article, so you should feel obliged to offer proof.

The second part is a logical fallacy. Sure, little kids have less money than a 16 year old, but that's still enough money to buy junk every day out of the vending machines. For my own worthless anecdotal evidence, didn't you know kids who purchased junkfood from the vending machines every day when you were a kid?

This article focuses on the foods being full of sugar and salt, but fail to mention EXACTLY how much an average meal contains in comparison to daily values,

There is a relation between eating habits and obesity where foods full of sugar and salt are concerned. True, if you eat small portions of sugary, salty food then you can keep your weight down.

However, if your diet even, in low calorie amounts, consists moslty of food like that, it can and will wreck your health and contribute heavily to weight gain.

The purpose of these regulations is to force schools to provide a more healthy menu so that people at the very least the food prepared by the school will not contribute to obesity and at most, give them better dietary habits.

School is a place for discipline. You can tell kids what to wear. How to cut their hair. What to bring to school. What kind of pencils to buy. You can tell them to exercise.

If you can do all that, why is modifying the menu out of bounds?

When are people going to wake up and realize its more the chemicals in our food then anything, people are not eating right that's true, but the FDA is not addressing the real problem its the chemicals that are added to the raising of the animals being passed on every time you eat a meat product. its a fact the animals are feed hormones and chemicals to speed up their growth and you eat the meat simple as that. not to mention kids now days are couch potatoes, what do you expect go to the real problem.

Kids nutrition education should start at home. Schools are in a catch 22 position. Do you feed kids food they'll actually eat?, or Supply politically correct food that most of which might end up it the trash leaving a child under nourished? I know my daughters school has recently changed their whole menu, Basically picking proven child favorites but doing it in a way which offers balance and diversity. All schools aren't created equal neither are their nutritionists and suppliers. If you don't like what your school provides, Step up and pack the brown bag to your guide lines. Don't be lazy parents get involed at home and at school.

Agree, MG. When I was a lad, many years ago, we had no "snack machines" but did have a couple Coke machines. Wanna know why that kid is fat? It's what he/she eats at home and at school and they will be the next diabetics, suffer from hypertension, and cost society a bundle to keep them healthy enough to get to the refrigerator.

The frig that is the new American pastime. Don't these learn any thing from the bud light commercials.

I agree with you to a certain extent, Eddie. I taught high school for 15 years, both on the South side of Chicago and at a suburban, mostly middle-to-upper-class school. At the inner-city school, all food was prepared on the premises in a large kitchen -- but it was full of fat and cholesterol. For those kids, 95% of whom were on free lunch programs, breakfast and lunch often were the only 2 reasonably healthy meals they got each day. When I moved to the suburban HS close to home, some of the food was prepared onsite (e.g., sandwiches, salads, hot foods), but pizza and "subs' were delivered mid-morning to the school. There are no snack vending machines at the school, and the only drink machines have regular and flavored water -- no soda, per the IL Board of Educaton; they were pulled out 3 years ago.

Wait until health officials see what parents buy their kids to eat at home!!

While I don't completely disagree with you, I'd like to point out this article is about vending machines in elementary schools. We're talking about little kids buying junk food out of machines when their parents aren't around to supervise them. If you want to give your children chips and soda, that is your choice, but I think vending machines in schools place the decision in the hands of the kids, who, while not stupid, are a lot more vulnerable to advertising and who often make poor choices on their own. Should we allow condom machines in schools too? How about cigarette machines?

Personal responsibility is a thing of the past.

Um, since when were children supposed to know to make responsible decisions for themselves?

Let me guess, you walked 20 miles through the snow to get to school and then were fed a piece of rehydrated shoe leather? You knew how to make the responsible decisions when you were in elementary school, so should everyone else!

Dave-2550157

While I don't completely disagree with you, I'd like to point out this article is about vending machines in elementary schools. We're talking about little kids buying junk food out of machines when their parents aren't around to supervise them.

My counter to your arguement is simple. Say a candy bar costs $1, which it often does. And let's assume for the sake of arguement 2 candy bars a week is considered unhealthy (I'm being conservative for the sake of my arguement). So that means little 8 year old billy is paying $2 or more a week on junk food. My question for you, where is he getting the money for the vending machine?

A government policy wont stop a parent from giving their kid a $10 bill on monday and telling them it's for lunch for the week. There are also other factors of course, not mentioned in this article. They mention school revenue briefly, skipping a major issue. School lunches aren't cheap. Vending machines offer food (snacks). If little billy is paying the vending machine company his dollar, he's not paying the school lunch lady. So if vending machines can deter school lunch revenue, who is the school district employee that is authorizing the vending machines on campus, thus depriving the school of funds?

For all the facts and percentages they like to throw around to make their issue seem well researched and informed, they leave out a lot of the details. A simple fix? A responsible parent would go to the cafeteria and put money on his kid's lunch account. That takes away the money for the vending machine, and means the kid is only eating authorized school meals. Not the end solution, but a proper step in my book.

Holy Cr@p,

If the parents have a problem with what the school is feeding their kids, how about it is brought up and addressed at a school board meeting. This country is getting absolutely pathetic with the governement stepping into EVERY little aspect of our lives. Tax money well spent??? Try again.

How many billions can we save now?? oooh wait, we need a government program for this, maybe we can get Michelle Obama a "super committee" to come up with a plan!! What the hell, lets just have governenment approved lunches for everyone, and we can tax it and make it free like health care!! (scarey thing is... someone is going to take me literally and agree with that). Gotta love this country.

@DunkinH: Usually I would say parents should teach their kids to eat healthy, but what elementary school kid is going to be responsible enough to buy an apple instead of a chocloate bar? This law makes sense in terms of trying to curb childhood obesity.

That being said, if they ever try to impose this on high school kids then that's crap. Those kids should be learning to think for themselves and if they wanna get fat, I say let 'em.

I don't know if the still do it now but my junior year I move from a small town to a huge one. The lunch choice included slushies and candy bars as well as french fries.

@Dave2550157 post#4.1

Cigarettes are not allowed on school property so we don't have to consider that the kids buy them elsewhere, condoms they give to the kids, along with telling them what they are for and how to use them, nice isn't it parents don't have a say the system does every thing, its a liberal thing. its like hay little boy take this, see that little girl over their.

Sex-ed less effective in red states, study says
Msnbc has a article on that. And last time I checked at least in my state you as a parent can sign a waiver exempting the from that education, so you do have a say.

Thats in some states.

@papag, ... because everyone knows that teenagers have excellent impulse control. It costs less to buy whole ingredients than it does prepackaged foods. The reason why it is cheaper FOR SCHOOLS to buy prepackaged foods (like breaded chicken nuggets) is because they are subsidized by the government. If you really don't want to spend money on feeding children, then you should be in favor of them eating healthier food.

Also, the number of people on these message boards who think it is acceptable for children to go hungry because of the poor choices their parents made is startling and cruel.

Tao of wow

You shouldn't exempt your kids from sex ed. Kids have the right to know about safe sex.

I agree with you...Why did Michelle Obama jump on this bandwagon? She did just to make an appearance and to support her husband effing campaign. She doesn't want to fight child hood obesity; She just wants to support her husband caimpaign for relection this year. Why do you think she came out and told the media she was going to fight child hood obesity around November of last year? Because Obama is up for relection now...As I have said, it is the schools fault for allowing the vending machines. When I left High School, my school had two vending machines in the cafeteria and one vending machine in the cellar, near the gym.

Back in my day you could not have snacks at school, not till I hit high school, there they had a snack shack but the teachers would not allow snacks to be brought into the class so it was eat and run if you could find the time, some times you just need to eat something in order to keep up your concentration so why not allow some snacks like an orange or a banana. the occasional candy bar. your stuck there all day, they just got to free about it, open a gee dunk twice a day and don't allow food in class, minimize it. school should not be a bad experience, but you are supposed to be there to learn. in Japan they start their day with calisthenics every student does exercises before anything else, it gets the blood flowing and oxygen to the brain what our kids need is more then diet control they need something that will work! the Obama's do not have the answers. we just need a little common sense. Kennedy came up with the presidential fitness plan it worked what happened to that! plus now kids are fed three times a day at school and twice at home, whats with that? do kids now days even take the physical fitness test anymore? the problem is we are taking the lazy way approach. just make them run 2 miles a day. and go back to grading them on their physical achievement, if they flunk gym they flunk that year, do it again. (summer school for under achievers) take their summers away they will apply themselves.

O Buck

This article is talking about vending machines still in school. But I agree, we spend 6 hrs day, depending on the country. My school day was 6 hrs long...And I never had 3 meals at school. I only had lunch at school. I don't know any school that served breakfast. But I do agree that we spend more time at school then at home and therefore should have something to keep us going through the day. And, in my school days, we had 3 days of Phys Ed...Again, true school is not supposed to be a bad experience. Why do you think I hate military school? And they already deal with bullies and I bet the school systems in each state still are not doing anything. But, yeah you don't need someone yelling at you when you get something wrong when in military school. I mean, in military school they treat it like boot camps. They get you up in the middle of the night and make you do laps, and then if your not done, the whole dorm does it agains and then if you finish you, in the morning before your next class, you still have to get up on time. Kids don't need that! School is hard enough with kids trying to concentrate on their grades. And, people say school is supposed to be a great time. I say they wake up and have a decent breakfast such as fruit including a Banana or Apple and cereal such as oatmeal or Honey Bunches of Oats. If they have to leave right away, then grab a Fiber Bar and a bottle of fresh fat free milk. That is very sensible!!!

I think it is both

Agreed!!! They need at least an hour of play! Maybe after school, they could put their bags in there rooms so they are ready for there homework, then go out side a grab a few kids, and play hide and seek. Then when going inside grab an apple, orange, grapes, or even have a granola bar. Right there, they would a have a decent lifestyle.

I remember when I was in high school (in the West) back in the late 90's, we had an apple machine. I'm not sure if we had a soda vending machine or not, but the snack ones were non existent. I'd say have the parents send money in to the school to put on kid's account, and give them no money, since the meal's paid for in advance. Little kids have no money, they can't blow their lunch money on junk food. I think my first elementary school I went to was set up just like that. It's amazing how much schools have changed.

When I was a kid, we ate everything under the sun and it still was not enough! Most of it burned off before it reached the tummy.

BTW: I was in HS during the 70's. We got an apple dispenser...had to pay a dime for an apple..."what a gyp!" 10 cents...for an apple?...no way! I bought them anyway...couldn't get enough!

I wish I could find apples today for a dime. Minimum .50 each around here. :(

I think even young children are capable of making their own lunches. My parents were ones who were too busy working to do that for us. They usually had us kids make our lunches the night before. I started making my lunch at age 7. I always ate everything because I put what I liked in it. Cheese or peanut butter sandwhiches, chips, those little applesause thingys, and a thermos (I remember my lunch box came with a thermos). I wish parents wouldn't baby their kids so much.

I remembere recess! We played before school, during lunch, had pt, and then we had about 45 minutes later in the afternoon for recess. Then after school we'd usually play around some more before we walked home from school. We had a real playground too. The ones I see now look insanely dull. I used to play 4 square, tag, red rover, double dutch, tetherball, and kickball when I wasn't on the swing set or the jungle gym and this playhouse thing. Sigh. Kids don't like to run around now.

Same here! Hafta wonder...what the heck happened? Did we fall asleep at the switch?

Tell me about it...I remember when I was in elementary recess and I played 4 square and multiple versions of tag. I didn't always like playing with the people I usually played with because they always criticised me for playing the game. I followed the rules and did everything they were doing but they still criticised me. But still, I remember when we had those games. Even swinging had some physical exertion to it. You would still burn calories doing that. Now they don't do that.

Here in my province in Canada, ALL elementary schools still have recess-2 15 minute ones (one in the morning, one in the afternoon), 30 minutes outside at lunch, phys. ed at least 3 times per cycle (so 2 or 3 days a week), and phys. ed of some sort is mandated as part of graduation for grade 12. I am 21, and definitely remember recess and what not. For goodness sakes, when I was in grade 7 and even older at my junior high/high school, my friends and I would still go down to the park just down the road at lunchtime if we were not busy in jazz band, chess club, book club, Youth in Philanthropy, Yearbook or any number of a dozen other things we did. Not kidding in the least. I still like to go down my street to the park and swing, and we definitely still have fun tobogganing down another friend's hill in the winter.

Play=how children learn. And really, don't we as adults learn best when something is enjoyable?

Bikeboy, I agree with you. Let them eat what they want...But, not to let them go overboard. I remember when kids asked for "A" cookie when they got home...And I am sure they still do ask for "A" cookie...I mean one cookie isn't going to kill them. Next the government is going to start saying that those chewy granola bars are unhealthy because of something really idiotic. What ever happened to kids being kids and letting them have their sugar once in a while...Shouldn't kids be able to have something unhealthy once in a while...And if you're going to die anyways, whats the point of worrying about being healthy when you may not be alive the next day to worry at all...

The good old Bush - NCLB - requirements have caused many schools to eliminate PE in favor of more time to prepare for THE TEST. You know the one that can result in whole school staffs being replaced - or - in a state takeover of the entire school system if the scores are low. Ironically - this legislation caused many schools to lose local control - what were the Republicans thinking?

Sadly - it seems that neither the Republicans or the Democrats in Congress aren't doing enough to get rid of this "sick" law.

Brickwall, what are you talking about?

This is the Democrats work now....Not Republicans...

Ooooooh so true. My son was not allowed to bring a FOOTBALL out to recess in the 5th and 6th grade at his elementary school, because they were afraid of the kids getting hurt playing TAG football (we played in the street when I was growing up). And a baseball??? forget it.

Yesssir my2cnts in SD...we have come a long way havent we.

Don't forget the jungle gyms. I remember them being fun to climb and if you fell you got a band aid from the nurse.

Should we also make all students live on campus in barracks, and give them drills with M16s in their spare time? An extreme fix is never the answer to an extreme problem.

The only thing you hit on that I agree with to a degree is parental responsibility. While I don't think one strike and the kid gets sent home forever is they answer (imagine kids who spend 18 years at home playing video games and can't write their own name, with parents unwilling to teach), parental responsibility is the source, the core issue. Parents need to make their kids play outside. They need to discipline them if they're not doing what they are suppose to in school, etc. Making school into basic training for the army is just going to make kids miserable, unfocused, and deter them from wanting to learn.

thers nothing wrong with teaching a kid how to shoot an ar15 with an m16 upper, gets a little expensive though, so i got a .22 conversion, my 14 year old loves to shoot it....just saying russlim.

@Jim

Don't get me wrong, I love guns. Didn't mean my comment to go that route, just saying in my mind QuipKid sounds like he'd rather have schools ran like basic training for the military. Even then, my time in the army was not as unforgiving and cold/sterile as he seems to want to make it. School is to teach kids, to turn them into adults. It's not a prison for the innocent.

Well said! To your suggestions I would add: Have "core" classes in the morning, starting after breakfast and ending before lunch. Let parents figure out the logistics of getting their own offspring fed. Extra-curricular activities could be held in the afternoon. Parents who can manage to buy $200 footwear for those offspring surely can figure out strategies for mealtimes!

Your quite right, there is nothing wrong with kids touching something unhealthy....Just as long as they choose to go healthy, as well. I mean the government is going to take away Halloween from the kids. That is a holiday, that I think kids should be able to enjoy without the government sticking their nose in. And healthy choices do start at home. Parents should be the one to send their kids outside for a bit and let them play tag or baseball with the neighbors...And then have them eat a decent sized meal...

Eddie: As overreaching as the federal government is, I don't think they can take away Halloween. October 31st will come anyway and neighbors will still be giving out candy. Parents are responsible for how much they allow their kids to eat. Period.

Yes, I understand that. What I am saying is, they could start saying all stores are going to stop Halloween sales or something like....

Having been a former professional natural bodybuilder, I can say that your paranoia about commercial farms, is just that, paranoia! Exercise is the key! If the kids of today were getting enough exercise, than the obesity problem would go away, even with the junk food in the schools! Guaranteed!

That is true...Its not always what you eat that can make you overweight/obese, but how much your eating that can make you fat. Also, I feel as though the government has forgotten, that some people may have a fast or slow metabolism as well as food allergies. I drink soda alot too and I am super skinny. I am at a good weight and I also hardly exercise. I weigh around 162 lbs and am 5' 11". There is honestly nothing wrong with kids eating unhealthy.

It's all about the goes-intas and the goes-outas. Calorie intake is the key.

Selling ice cream and cookies doesn't cause obesity. Consuming too much ice cream and too many cookies, without added activity, does.