School lunches + childhood obesity - military service = more vulnerable country?
Looks like making kids potential fighting machines is getting some attention.
I’m pretty sure the problem is not school lunch. There’s nothing wrong with a chicken patty sandwich, some soggy vegetable medley and a little thing of milk. Maybe not the most nutritious meal in the world, but that ain’t what’s making kids fat. The 4 sodas or gatorades they down during the course of the day probably is, however.
[quote]jtrinsey wrote:
I’m pretty sure the problem is not school lunch. There’s nothing wrong with a chicken patty sandwich, some soggy vegetable medley and a little thing of milk. Maybe not the most nutritious meal in the world, but that ain’t what’s making kids fat. The 4 sodas or gatorades they down during the course of the day probably is, however.[/quote]
I don’t think that’s what they’re getting.
You know french-fries count as a vegetable?
Think chicken-nuggest, fries, cookies (gotta have desert) and “fruit juice”.
If they served a little chicken patty, greens and milk, that’d be different.
I remember middle-school: microwave burrito/chimichanga, nutty buddy bar and soda were a typical school lunch, skittles if I wanted fruit.
I like the idea about making the discussion about national security. The problem there, of course, is we would have to think more like a collective (good for the group) rather than as individuals (I will do what I damn well please). I think that some of the health-care debate and other culture/behavior-related topics follow this fundamental dichotomy. If we push people to behave in a particular way(s) for the general good - national security, lower health-care costs, less environmental impact, etc. - then we have to move away from the individual as cultural, political and economic focus. Food for thought.
They reason kids are fat is they are lazy and don’t go outside anymore. They would rather stay in and play games on the tv or computer.
[quote]Tex Ag wrote:
I like the idea about making the discussion about national security. The problem there, of course, is we would have to think more like a collective (good for the group) rather than as individuals (I will do what I damn well please). I think that some of the health-care debate and other culture/behavior-related topics follow this fundamental dichotomy. If we push people to behave in a particular way(s) for the general good - national security, lower health-care costs, less environmental impact, etc. - then we have to move away from the individual as cultural, political and economic focus. Food for thought.[/quote]
Kids are kids. If parents want to home-school them, or put them in private schools that’s fine. But kids don’t have the same rights to self-determination as adult citizens do.
We all pay for public schools, they should be healthy places. If you want to argue against public schools, that’s fine, but as long as they exist, they should strive for excellence, and use my tax dollars a well as possible.
ive been watching jamie olivers food revolution, on the show there was a part where they were saying pizza they were giving the kids for breakfast were more nutritious than the stuff he was making with like chicken and vegetables or something…
Yeah…
I think creating consensus as to what constitutes healthy is, oddly enough, probably the biggest road block to healthy food in the schools.
[quote]Spartiates wrote:
[quote]Tex Ag wrote:
I like the idea about making the discussion about national security. The problem there, of course, is we would have to think more like a collective (good for the group) rather than as individuals (I will do what I damn well please). I think that some of the health-care debate and other culture/behavior-related topics follow this fundamental dichotomy. If we push people to behave in a particular way(s) for the general good - national security, lower health-care costs, less environmental impact, etc. - then we have to move away from the individual as cultural, political and economic focus. Food for thought.[/quote]
Kids are kids. If parents want to home-school them, or put them in private schools that’s fine. But kids don’t have the same rights to self-determination as adult citizens do.
We all pay for public schools, they should be healthy places. If you want to argue against public schools, that’s fine, but as long as they exist, they should strive for excellence, and use my tax dollars a well as possible.[/quote]
I am not arguing against public schools, did not even think of that, and I like your point. As tax payers we should get some voice.
I was going more at the “shrink the size of the national debt but do not touch my Medicare” aspect of much of political/cultural arguments.
[quote]Spartiates wrote:
Yeah…
I think creating consensus as to what constitutes healthy is, oddly enough, probably the biggest road block to healthy food in the schools.[/quote]
Healthy, unfortunately, is defined by our agricultural policy (now dominated by just a few multinationals) more than by nutrition. The goal of cheap food for everyone has come at the cost of the loss of nutritional value in our foods.
Then there are all the debates about what is nutritious…
Which returns us to natural security. There is a difference between raising boys and girls to me mild-mannered middle managers (soy meatloaf? anyone?) and raising them to be potential warriors (grass-fed steak and more steak). It could potentially shift how the developing child body is viewed, what skills they need to learn, and what constitutes healthy.
[quote]cryptik wrote:
They reason kids are fat is they are lazy and don’t go outside anymore. They would rather stay in and play games on the tv or computer.[/quote]
This. A unpopular opinion but when I get a kid,Im not even going to buy them a game system. I remember times when I could have been outside playing football or war but instead I was inside playing on the SNES.
[quote]fong520 wrote:
ive been watching jamie olivers food revolution, on the show there was a part where they were saying pizza they were giving the kids for breakfast were more nutritious than the stuff he was making with like chicken and vegetables or something… [/quote]
well, they weren’t exactly saying it was healthier. They were saying pizza satisfies a few requirements for the state’s nutritional guidelines which is somethign ridiculous like 2 breads (grains) 1 meat, vegetables fruit … basically the food pyramid. And pizza counts as the 2 bread requirements, a vegetable and a meat … so you satisfy 4 req’s with one source … ie more bang for your buck. Which we, here, know to be foolish and destructive.
[quote]Tex Ag wrote:
[quote]Spartiates wrote:
[quote]Tex Ag wrote:
I like the idea about making the discussion about national security. The problem there, of course, is we would have to think more like a collective (good for the group) rather than as individuals (I will do what I damn well please). I think that some of the health-care debate and other culture/behavior-related topics follow this fundamental dichotomy. If we push people to behave in a particular way(s) for the general good - national security, lower health-care costs, less environmental impact, etc. - then we have to move away from the individual as cultural, political and economic focus. Food for thought.[/quote]
Kids are kids. If parents want to home-school them, or put them in private schools that’s fine. But kids don’t have the same rights to self-determination as adult citizens do.
We all pay for public schools, they should be healthy places. If you want to argue against public schools, that’s fine, but as long as they exist, they should strive for excellence, and use my tax dollars a well as possible.[/quote]
I am not arguing against public schools, did not even think of that, and I like your point. As tax payers we should get some voice.[/quote] Our voice is the officials we elect in our local elections who make these decisions for us. This is why local elections are very important as they allocate the funds into the community as they see fit. National elections have a lot more prestige and press but not nearly as much direct influence on our daily lives as local/state elections do. Which is why local elections are so damn important but are often over looked by many voters.[quote]
I was going more at the “shrink the size of the national debt but do not touch my Medicare” aspect of much of political/cultural arguments.[/quote]
Yeah. Think about school district elections… ever even vote in one of those?
[quote]Spartiates wrote:
Yeah. Think about school district elections… ever even vote in one of those?[/quote]
exactly…
[quote]Totenkopf wrote:
[quote]cryptik wrote:
They reason kids are fat is they are lazy and don’t go outside anymore. They would rather stay in and play games on the tv or computer.[/quote]
This. A unpopular opinion but when I get a kid,Im not even going to buy them a game system. I remember times when I could have been outside playing football or war but instead I was inside playing on the SNES.[/quote]
You can still buy the system, just put limits on its usage (at night, after homework is done, rainy days, etc). No problem.
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
[quote]Totenkopf wrote:
[quote]cryptik wrote:
They reason kids are fat is they are lazy and don’t go outside anymore. They would rather stay in and play games on the tv or computer.[/quote]
This. A unpopular opinion but when I get a kid,Im not even going to buy them a game system. I remember times when I could have been outside playing football or war but instead I was inside playing on the SNES.[/quote]
You can still buy the system, just put limits on its usage (at night, after homework is done, rainy days, etc). No problem.[/quote]
TO further this particular vein of thread-hijacking, I have a personal story to relate. I was a fatty when I was younger, and my parents enforced a rule that I had to engage in physical activity in equal proportion to the time I spent watching television and/or playing video games.
So I’d go outside and play basketball for a half-hour, then come inside and play TMNT for a half-hour.
Also noteworthy is that it totally failed to curb my weight as a youngster. I was a fat 250 at 6’1" in the seventh grade (age 13 for you internationals). Then I got involved in a team sport, and they ran the weight off me. Adolescence and peer pressure took off the rest.