Two tiers are not enough (Part 1)

Two tiers are not enough (Part 1)

There’s been a lot of talk in the news lately about what schools should be serving for lunch. In relation to this, people are concerned with the growing obesity problem among kids. Suggestions have been made by just about every health organization as to what sorts of food should be served. One alleged solution is called the two-tier system. This is a low fat and low sugar plan that would cut serving sizes down to two hundred calories. Looking at this from the outside this sounds great, finally a solution, but is this really a guarantee? Or even a truly healthy option.

Not to be cynical but kids only eat one meal at school. So what are they doing for breakfast and dinner? Frankly parents are much less strict then the schools. Kids are not restricted to a two hundred calorie per serving meal at home. Some parents may make it an issue to serve low fat meals to their kids. But, in today’s world, most don’t even consider this. Also, if kids are deprived of sugary snacks at school wont they just eat more when they get home. In a recent study it has been proven that kids will be kids. Cutting out these foods just drives kids to eat much more of it in the end. This whole restrictive system actually has the opposite effect, more obese kids!

What should be taken even more into consideration is the health risks involved with a low fat diet. Is this a truly healthy choice to make? The answer to this is ‘not necessarily’. Sure being obese is unhealthy and fatty foods lead to obesity. But in order to become obese someone has to eat an incredibly large amount of unhealthy food and not much else. The key to a healthy diet is balance. You have to eat the right amount of protein, vegetables, fruit, and fat. Believe it or not fats and sugars are apart of healthy diet, especially, for children. They aid in things such as growth and brain development. Two key things needed for a happy healthy life. Of course, fats should not be overeaten, but rather put into balance with the rest of what you eat. Childhood obesity is a tricky problem, but eliminating all the “unhealthy” foods from their diets is not the answer.