Childhood Obesity Best Battled in Schools, Research Finds

[Dakine10 5,452]

Cheese pizza is a vegetable - well, here in the USofA it is. So, there needs to be more cheese pizza. Three servings a day.

Hot dogs might be too. Who the heck knows what they have in them.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Hot dogs might be too. Who the heck knows what they have in them.

They might. And if not, they can certainly be made into one. If I remember correctly, the justification for pizza to be labeled a vegetable was the presence of tomato sauce on it. So, just squeeze some ketchup on that hot dog and voila, there's your vegetable.

[slim 1,530]

This whole thread is like saying the government needs more money to overcome the deficit.

[Danno 1,228]

I see nothing wrong with any local school system implementing a healthier lunch for the fatties, it's probably a good idea what I object to is any influence on the matter coming from outside of the State.

Natually the Fed is all involved in the school lunch program so I am wondering......

Since the Fed started handing out guidlines, have the kids gotten healthier? Are the kids actually getting fatter?

Is this another case of -when Big Gov gets involved things get worse not better?

Bottom line if they really wanted to address fat folks ... without trampling on the rights of anyone they would take aim at the Food-Stamp program.

Here you have whole families given hundreds of dollars a month to buy anything from Cheetos to Popcorn and soda. (no strings attached)

If you won't control tax dollars being spent on food.... leave everyone else alone.

[slim 1,530]

Vote Ron Paul and within the first year, the Dept. of Ed. is GONE!

[Danno 1,228]

Vote Ron Paul and within the first year, the Dept. of Ed. is GONE!

I'm not a Ron Paul fan for a number of Reasons but I would vote for him on the rare chance he could succeed in eliminating some of these Depts.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Vote Ron Paul and within the first year, the Dept. of Ed. is GONE!

if only it were that easy.... There aren't enough small government Republicans/Democrats in there now to pull something like that off. It would take a miracle to eliminate any department these days.

[slim 1,530]

I'm not a Ron Paul fan for a number of Reasons but I would vote for him on the rare chance he could succeed in eliminating some of these Depts.

I keep hearing that from people. "I'd vote for him for this reason." Well, then do it. How many reasons can you list for your other candidates? I hear people say things like, "Well, I like the policies of this candidate." I ask them to explain the policy and the candidate's stance on it. "Well, I just think he'd do a good job." Might as well vote Obama then.

RP is specific. There's no other candidate out there that says, "I will specifically do this on this issue, this on this one, this on this one..." They say things like, "Well, we need to work with the democrats and ensure a bipartisan solution is achived for all." Ron Paul slays him with his standard answer, "That's not in Article 1 Section 8 of the constitution so I don't think we have any business doing that. We're going to end that program or get rid of that department."

The only other candidates that's were close couldn't remember which department they were going to eliminate or just kept repeating the same number three times in a row.

if only it were that easy.... There aren't enough small government Republicans/Democrats in there now to pull something like that off. It would take a miracle to eliminate any department these days.

A president leading them would be a good start.

[J and S 38]

Here's why you'll never see a healthy lunch in public schools: it costs money.

I'm a teacher. I see their lunches. The things that are labeled "healthy" are in fact, not. All of the nutrition information can be found on the district websites. Even their salads have caloric intake of 600+ calories. All of the foods are high in sodium and high in fat content. I do an activity once a year where kids have to monitor all of that. Most of them are surprised at how unhealthy the lunches actually are. I mean...they know it's gross, but I don't think they realized how unhealthy it is too.

Kids are required to run 1 mile only once a week. And they're given a whole period to complete that mile. Essentially, a kid can walk the mile and still pass PE.

Food that is truly healthy costs money. And with the economic mess our country is in, the state keeps pulling money away from public education. Unhealthy food is cheap. It's the basis of a lot of recent studies on diabetes and obesity trends in poor neighborhoods. Buy sugar/corn syrup juice for $1.50 a gallon, or buy real fruit juice or organic juice at $4.00 for half a gallon (if that).

Kids, if taught at home to eat right, will choose to eat right at school as well.

I personally keep healthy options in my classroom (fridge stocked with fruits, low fat yogurt, and raw veggies). I have kids who will forgo the tortilla chips offered at lunch and come into my room and ask for the fruits. Generally, those kids are all athletes in one or more sports who like to stay fit.

It's a more complicated problem than it seems.

I would LOVE to see them enforce a better PE curriculum in public schools. Not going to happen. Why? Because there's no enough money to hire a decent amount of PE teachers. Instead, they're thrown out there with 60-90 teenagers. I do NOT envy that position. I'd rather bang my head against a wall for 1 hour. I'd probably end up with the same headache anyways. lol.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

bullshit. We ate all of that ####### if not worse in school and we weren't fat. Why? Because we still had recess, PE, etc...

Kids now days don't get enough physical activity. The meals aren't the problems for these growing kids, it's lack of activity and for many those damn psychological drugs they are shoving down their throats that screws with their metabolism.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Wonder why Obama has not addressed this yet? I mean, you would think Michelle would have told him about this.

Sounds like schools are the best place for everything except education.

[slim 1,530]

Wonder why Obama has not addressed this yet? I mean, you would think Michelle would have told him about this.

*Insert totally inappropriate racial joke here. And remember Tiger Woods.*

Sounds like schools are the best place for everything except education.

They're perfect for indoctrination!

[kytwell 179]

I figured out the reason for childhood obesity - lazy parents. I was at the kids school earlier tonight and the parking lot was empty, but the fire zone was bumper to bumper.

[slim 1,530]

I figured out the reason for childhood obesity - lazy parents. I was at the kids school earlier tonight and the parking lot was empty, but the fire zone was bumper to bumper.

I don't know why we blame anything on kids or try to control their behavior at all.

We should be working on the parents. And doing a little mandatory birth control wouldn't hurt either.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

And doing a little mandatory birth control wouldn't hurt either.

Aren't they struggling to resolve that little issue of forced "birth control" - a.k.a. eugenics - down in N.C. right around now? It hasn't been that long - less than 5 decades - that the state had a program in place to sterilize certain people which it felt should not reproduce. Among those the poor, of course. Yearning for those good ole' days, slim?