Kyra Todd
English P.3
5/16/2012
Should Fast Food Be Abolished From our School?
In my opinion, and the opinion of many nutritional experts, fast food should be
completely taken out of all school systems. This opinion stems from many facts
including; fast food is one of the leading causes of obesity, raises insulin resistance, and
raises LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.
Many people back the claim thought many years ago, that fast food and food
labeled "junk food" is not bad for you, and would have no qualms about feeding it
regularly to their children. Many of their minds are changed, however, when their child is
at risk for a stroke, heart attack, or even on the cusp of death. What we hear, though, is
their loudest opinion, the one they had right before they found out they were dead wrong.
Most people, on average, eat out 1-2 times per week, with some admitting to
eating out 3-5 times per week. An average teenage boy’s caloric needs are in the range of
1500 to 2500 a day. When eating out, some meals can add up to 2,000 calories! Fast food
is one of the leading causes of obesity, with thousands of victims anywhere from ten to
five hundred pounds overweight. Nowadays, the average teenager is 2-40 pounds
overweight, versus ten years ago. These statistics follow the trends of families eating out
more, along with children and teens who are fed this fattening food everyday for lunch in
our schools. We are, in fact, encouraging children to eat unhealthily by teaching them
from a young age that eating fast food regularly is okay, and even normal. We are, by
extension, teaching the children of America that it is okay to disease and kill them-selves
with food.
According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) teenagers
who eat fast food frequently have an increased risk of insulin-resistance, which is a risk
factor for Type-2 Diabetes. Insulin is necessary to move blood sugar (glucose) into cells,
where it is then stored for later use as energy. A person with Type-2 Diabetes’ fat, liver,
and muscle cells do not properly respond to insulin. Because of this, glucose does not
make it into the body’s cells to become energy. Type-2 Diabetes is most commonly
found in people who are overweight, according to the A.D.A.M Medical Encyclopedia.
LDL cholesterol is the cholesterol that all the Cheerio commercials talk about,
that all who are healthy have low amounts of. LDL circulates in the blood, sticking to the
sides of arteries, and making it so they cannot constrict fully. This can lead to severe
heart health problems later in life. This is known as arterial blockage. Arterial blockage
can also lead to heart disease, heart attack and stroke. Doctor Philip Chua of The Cebu
Cardiovascular Center adds that arterial blockage deprives your muscles and tissues of
oxygen and speeds up the aging process.
In short, all of these things are what we are afflicting the children of America with
through the school lunch systems. I, along with many nutritional experts, need to see the
school lunch systems changed. To do this would literally save lives.