Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Good nutrition at odds with machines
Luanne Traud
Recent columns
- Marking a difficult anniversary
- My daughter, the voter
- A few new Voices would be nice
- A rush to legislate
From the RoundTable blog
During a recent tour of a local high school, I couldn't help but notice that vending machines have replaced water fountains.
The first stop, the soft-spoken blonde explained, was the senior hallway. Seniors gather here for lunch.
The touring eighth-graders looked around, impressed that one day they, too, might stand in the hallowed hall. The parents perceived something else entirely.
No tables. No chairs. Just a hallway and an impressive selection of vending machines.
The senior hurried us along. She led us down more hallways, pointing out gyms and labs and classrooms for this subject and that. Along nearly every corridor, yet another vending machine taunted passers-by to plop coins or feed a crisp bill into the slots for the expected payoff of a quick fix of sugar.
Had I not been pressured to keep up with the tour, I would have caved to temptation. I was working up a powerful thirst and searched in vain for a water fountain. Perhaps they did exist, but if so, they were as noticeable as beige paint.
Hurrying along, I popped a mint and caught up as our guide led us past the cafeteria. The lines, she cautioned, were often too long, leaving precious little time to actually eat the food that is dished out. Most kids don't bother. The vending machines will do. And on the tour went. More machines.
In the car on the way home, the second-grader, so impressed by all the soda, candy and chips awaiting students, told the eighth-grader that she shouldn't worry about going to high school, and that she, herself, couldn't wait to go and use all those machines.
And we wonder why kids are growing fat.
I am intentionally omitting the name of the school. It wouldn't be fair to single it out for the vending machine hall of shame when far too many other schools are in the running.
A few days after our tour of the vending machines, er high school, an Associated Press story reported on West Virginia's attempt to combat childhood obesity by ordering the video game "Dance Dance Revolution" for its 157 middle schools. The game plays music and directs the player to step on colors and arrows on the pad. It's sort of like the game of Simon set to music and played with feet rather than hands. In theory, it sounds like a great idea to combine sedentary game playing with movement. In practice, it isn't much fun after the novelty wears off.
Still, our neighbor earns points for at least trying to supplement physical activity and for its state board of education's ban of soft drinks.
Virginia has yet to show such initiative even though the Virginia Commission on Youth completed a childhood obesity study in 2003 that highlighted the dangers of complacency.
A survey of the state's fourth-graders found that one-third were much heavier than their height required. The report noted that Virginia Department of Health statistics pegged overall obesity at 57 percent, up 17 percent over the previous 10 years, and rising.
While the childhood obesity study noted that parents primarily are responsible for their children's health, it also recognized that the greatest portion of a child's day is spent in schools.
Virginia is doing an admirable task in promoting physical activity by requiring health and gym classes and ample recess time for younger pupils. It isn't up to par when it comes to nutrition. Sure it incorporates nutrition into its curriculum, and schools do follow federal guidelines (such as they are) for planning menus. But too many schools, as documented in the report, fail to allot enough time for students to wait in the cafeteria line and eat their food.
The shortage of time sends many hungry kids to seek the quick fixes that vending machines provide. That isn't likely to change without pressure from the state or parents.
As the study noted:
"Many school systems balk at the idea of completely eliminating the sale of competitive foods. ... Research has found that 69 percent of schools obtain additional funds through business partnerships with food and beverage companies. These 'pouring rights' contracts often have provisions to increase the percentage of profits schools receive when sales volume increases. This creates incentive to promote soft drink consumption and to increase the times these products are available."
By the evidence stacked in school hallways, the schools have demonstrated that fattening the school's treasury is indeed preferable to trimming students' waistlines.
