No Junk Food in Schools Policy, Essay Example

The important question to ask regarding the junk food and beverage in schools policy is if preventing the consumption of this type of food and drink in school will lead to children actually preferring healthier food types over them.

From a macro level, there are several reasons for upholding the junk food policy in schools. First among these is that the school as an institution of learning is influential in setting example for children to follow. Junk food is unhealthy, and is a leading cause of childhood obesity, which in turn is linked to various other diseases upon adulthood such as diabetes and hypertension (Bissex, 2008; Parents Against Junk Food, 2006). When something is prohibited in the school, people are made aware that that something is not good for them (Stalter et al., 2011). If the message is delivered correctly, it may be successful in furthering actual change in children’s preferred eating habits. Another, more practical reason why to have no junk food policy in schools is because children spend most of their time in school. Thus, not allowing junk food in schools means that children have less time to eat junk food. While this is not a guarantee that they would actually stop eating junk food outside of school, limiting the time that they have to consume unhealthy food may cause them to at least consume less food (Sanchez-Vaznaugh, 2010). Last but not the least, banning junk food in school will give children the opportunity to try out other food and snacks while in campus. This may allow them to realize that such food is not so unappealing at all, which may in turn lead them to leave junk food altogether.

References

Bissex, J. (2008). Snacking Smarts for the New Year. Exceptional Parent, 38(2): 19-20.

Parents Against Junk Food. (2006). Stop the Sale of Junk Food in America’s Schools. Retrieved February 5, 2011 from: http://parentsagainstjunkfood.org/whoweare.html

Sanchez-Vaznaugh, H. (2010). Competitive Food And Beverage Policies: Are They Influencing Childhood Overweight Trends? Health Affairs, 29 (3): 436

Stalter, A., Kaylor, M., Steinke, J., and Barker, R. (2011). Parental Perceptions of the Rural School’s Role in Addressing Childhood Obesity. Journal of School Nursing, 27(1): 70-81.