Lunch

Crystal Cervantes

Honors English 10th

December 26, 2012

P.5th

Tired, crabby, or unfocused in class? It could be the food you are eating. The lack of healthy and tasty school lunch selections has recently become a problem in almost every elementary, middle and high school across the nation. Most schools sell junk food to students and I think this is wrong. There are many good reasons to remove junk food from school lunch menus, and creating a healthier student body is number one. Junk foods should be taken out of school lunch menus because they affect your body and mind in negative ways.

Junk food is a major cause of childhood obesity. 32% of youth are overweight and nearly 74% are unfit. The bad food offered in public schools contributes to this unacceptable problem. A single 12-ounce can of soda has as much as 13 teaspoons of sugar in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. Many of these sodas are available to kids in school at low prices as well as many other completely unhealthy foods like chips and cookies. School lunches have a very high fat content and the USDA supplies schools with the same commodity foods as prisons. Due to the lack of fresh and flavorful food, many students will choose to buy the cheap junk food offered instead. If we could stock vending machines and cafeteria with healthier foods, it would definitely make a dent in the childhood obesity rate.

Another reason cafeterias should start serving healthier food is that junk food does

not give kids the energy needed to stay focused in school or the power to participate in sports. Lunch is right in the middle of the day; if you eat fatty or sugary foods, it could cause you to get tired and not pay attention in your afternoon classes. In addition, junk food zaps your energy, which affects your physical activity. You cannot perform your best if you don’t have any energy. Many people on my swim team used to snack on chips and soda before...