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School Lunches: A Threat to Health?

 

Our research question for this project was: How are teens affected by the selection of foods offered at schools, and how can teens make better choices at school in order to maintain a healthier lifestyle?

 

Introduction to the Topic

(Meherab Grewal)  

      Many of us buy school lunches.  There are many reasons, such as not needing to spend any time making a lunch, thus making it easier and quicker to buy.  Also, some kids find school lunches taste better.  However, these reasons are precisely why America has one of the highest child obesity rates on Earth.  How can we band together to make school lunches more healthy, or pack at home?  Those questions are important ones to the future health of America's children.

 

An Overview of the Problem

(Meherab Grewal)

Last year, 7.8 million children regularly ate school lunches, and 3 million more bought some kind of snack (soda, candy) from their school to complement their own lunch. Now, about half of school lunches can be healthy, however, children choose to eat the more unhealthy foods because they taste better and they look more appealing.

 

For example, from personal experience, I can say that about 75% of kids eat pizza on a pizza day. However, only about 10% of kids eat a tuna salad, or a sandwich. Along with their unhealthy and processed pizza, most kids consume fries and a pop as well.

 

Some Interesting Facts

(Meherab Grewal)

• 60.1% of public school children bought school lunches in 2008
• The majority of school lunches cost over $4.50
• Resources such as Zangle can notify parents what kids are eating, and lead them to make the right decision concerning their child’s health
• Fries were the most common thing purchased in 2007
• Children who eat at school are 3 times more likely to be obese, and 10 times more likely to be overweight
• School lunches are actually healthier than home lunches if chosen right

Analysis of the Nutritional Information of the IA School Lunch Program

by Fehinti Akande

To examine the nutritional information of our school lunch program at IA, we chose to perform a real-life test, somewhat similar to Supersize Me.  I ate school lunch every day for one week – something I normally do – and bought the same things I normally would.  I then looked up the nutritional information for those items and analyzed it. 

 

Note from Brian: Although this test does not encompass the entirety of the nutritional information, as it does not include every item, it gives a realistic picture of the nutritional information of a normal lunch by including only those items that a student actually selected – not what is necessarily included in the lunch packages that meet federal regulations.  Thus, this is where federal regulations fail students – the food meets the regulations if certain combinations of items are selected, but if a student purchases anything besides the standard lunch combo, the meal no longer meets the regulations and may be much more unhealthy.  The issue with this is, of course, that most students choose their own lunch, omitting many parts of the lunch combo and replacing them with other, less healthy, foods.  Therefore, this test better represents what is actually eaten by students than an analysis of a lunch combo or of the full menu. 

 

The following is the spreadsheet that contains the data from the test:

Nutrition Spreadsheet

 

We calculated my daily averages for calories, protein, total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, fiber, sugar, sodium, and cholesterol.  Looking at all the items I ate, there were some that were relatively healthy – at least compared to what we expected going into the project.  However, none of them were something I would recommend as a healthy food.  The difference was mainly between those foods that were outright unhealthy and those that were passable.  To analyze the results, however, we looked less at individual foods and more at the overall picture.  We compared the daily average quantities of the above mentioned nutrients to the recommended daily values, considering (as the federal guidelines do) that lunch is typically one of three meals, and thus should contain one third of the recommended daily values of each nutrient.

 

My average calorie total per lunch was 666 calories, which is 33.3% of a 2000 calorie diet.  This allows for accurate analysis of the meal using the recommended daily values for a 2000 calorie diet.  It also demonstrates that the lunches have at least one good aspect – they provide an appropriate amount of calories for a meal.  Based on this piece of information, one might assume that we were wrong, and the lunches are healthy after all.  However, looking at the rest of the information, we soon found that other categories did not correspond with their recommendations nearly as well.

 

On average, I ate 33.4 grams of protein in my lunch per day.  The recommended daily value for protein is 50 grams per day.  Thus, I consumed 66.8% of the recommended daily value in one meal – which is twice as much as I should have.  After eating enough protein for two meals at lunch, it is likely that I ended up eating too much protein for the entire day as a result.  This is a potential health risk – one of the many present in the school lunch system.

 

I ate an average of 24.3 grams of fat per lunch.  The recommended daily value for fat is about 65 grams per day (assuming a 2000 calorie diet, which my average lunch of 666 calories is almost exactly one third of).  Thus, I ate an average of 37% of the recommended amount of fat at lunch.  Although this amount is reasonable, a cause for concern lies in the source of this fat.  I ate an average of 11.5 grams of saturated fat per lunch, compared to a recommended daily value of no more than 20 grams of saturated fat per day.  Thus, I ate 57.5% of my daily saturated fat in one meal.  This poses serious health risks, as we learned in the nutrition unit – yet another danger of school lunch.  Although many people believe that school lunches are filled with trans fats, that is not the case.  We found that none of the items I consumed contained any trans fat.  In fact, there were only a few items on the entire school lunch menu that contained trans fat.

 

I ate 80.2 grams of total carbohydrates on average each day, which is 27% of the recommended daily value for carbohydrates of 300 grams.  Thus school lunches, although many expect the opposite, actually have slightly fewer total carbohydrates than recommended.  As a subcategory of carbohydrates, I consumed only 4.2 grams of fiber per lunch.  The recommended daily value for fiber is 25 grams, which I ate only 17% of.  Thus, school lunches do not provide an adequate amount of fiber.  I also consumed an average 14.8 grams of sugar per meal.  This is 37% of the recommendation of 40 grams of sugar per meal.  Although I consumed slightly too much sugar, it does not appear to be a major problem, as these numbers could easily vary as the menu items chosen vary.

 

I ate an average of 1067 milligrams of sodium each lunch.  Since the recommended daily value for sodium is 2400 milligrams, this is 44% of my sodium for the day.  This is more than what should be in one meal, so I am set up to eat too much sodium based on my lunch.  Thus, the school lunches include too much sodium, which could be a health risk.

 

On average, I ate 49.6 milligrams of cholesterol per lunch.  This is only 16.5% of the recommended daily value of 300 milligrams.  As 300 milligrams is a maximum recommendation for cholesterol, this is a healthy amount.  This is another positive aspect of school lunches, as they clearly do not have an excess of cholesterol.

 

Overall, the majority of the categories analyzed showed problems with the nutritional value of school lunches.  The lunches do not provide enough of some good nutrients, such as fiber, while providing excessive amounts of other nutrients – some of which are bad to begin with.  Thus, although school lunches do have their merits, the negative aspects far outweigh the positive aspects.  School lunches pose a potential threat to students’ health, making it important for teenagers to make educated, healthy eating decisions during and after school hours.

 

IA Eating Habits - A Survey

(Brian Baran)

     After assessing the nutritional values and problems with the IA school lunch system, we decided to conduct a survey of IA students to find out how many people at our own school eat school lunch and their thoughts about it.  The survey generated 100 results, which were relatively balanced among the grades.  However, 64% of the responses were from females, so some data may be slightly skewed.  Even though the sampling of students was not perfectly balanced, the survey still provides insight into the eating habits of IA students.

 

We discovered that 61% of IA students who responded buy lunch at least once a week.  16% said they bought every day.  Thus, the majority of the students purchase school lunches and are affected by any health risks associated with them.  62% of respondents said they bought snack items at school at least once a week, which are mostly unhealthy junk food items.  Contrary to many complaints about sugary drinks in schools, only 40% of respondents said they bought pop or frozen coke at least once a week.

 

The most interesting results came from the series of questions asking about the types of items students buy.  52% of students surveyed said they typically buy fries, but only 29% typically buy or take fruit.  Also, only 29% of students typically buy salads.  Even less buy milk, at only 25%.  Worse still are the numbers for vegetables, at 18.7%.  The numbers shoot up again, however, when the question asks about fried food - 57.1% of those surveyed typically buy fried food.  Thus, although the school provides healthy options, they are not actually eaten, making them irrelevant to the health of most of the students.  Instead, the healthiness of most students' meals revolves around their fried food and their fries - both of which are unhealthy options.  The only way to change this would be to change what is offered, but until then, the healthy options will be ignored in favor of the unhealthy options.  Why?  Many students, including myself, believe they taste better.  Also, the fruit and vegetables are rarely fresh, and typically look and taste disgusting.  There is evidently something wrong with the quality of the vegetables if students are offering each other money for eating an entire cup of vegetables.

 

Only 37% of those surveyed believed that they made healthy choices most of the time.  Another 29% said they made healthy choices half of the time.  IA students are aware that their choices are unhealthy, yet they continue to make them.  The only solution to this is to remove the unhealthy options.

 

When asked what percent of the school's lunch choices they believe are healthy, the majority (52%) said 25%.  It is evident from this that the school lunch program does not offer enough healthy options.  Many students later replied that a healthy change that could be made to the menu would be to reduce the amount of fried food offered.

 

Overall, the survey's main benefit was the evidence for kids preferring unhealthy options over healthy options.  This gives all the more reason to completely change the menu of the school lunch program in favor of a completely healthy program.

 

The Solutions

Brian Baran and Meherab Grewal

 

Solution 1: Buying Smart

Meherab Grewal

     Here are some tips to buy a healthy lunch:

• If you are hungrier than usual, pick an extra snack; crackers or whole-grain popcorn is good - try to stay away from chips, poptarts, and muffins.
• Make sure your meal has lots of grains
• Fruits and vegetables are a better side than mashed potatoes, but be sure to pick something you will actually eat - go for the freshest and most appetizing
• Make sure that you will enjoy your meal, or it is just 4 dollars of wasted money
• Don't overspend; keep your eyes smaller than your stomach
• Pick a good beverage.  Milk is much cheaper than soda or Powerade, and it is also healthier
• If you don't like milk, bring a water bottle and fill it up at a water fountain so you don't pay $1.25 for water
• Have a small treat sometimes, like a chocolate bar or Skittles, as long as you keep it in moderation.

 

Solution 2: Bringing A Lunch

Brian Baran

 

 

The key to bringing your lunch is to bring something you will eat.  If you don't like what you brought, you will just get in line and buy something - believe me, it happens to me sometimes.  Try to change up what you bring - if you bring the same thing every day, you'll get sick of it and end up buying lunch.  Also, make sure you keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot.  If they're the wrong temperature, you won't want them and will end up buying lunch.

 

 

 

In your lunch, you should try to bring lean meat, a whole grain item (perhaps a sandwich with lean meat), a fruit or a vegetable every day, a low-fat yogurt, water or milk, and a few snacks for class and during lunch so you won't have to buy candy, chips, or cookies.

 

 

 

Below is a list of good snacks to bring.  Make sure you choose something you like, and only bring a small amount - eating in moderation is important.

 

 

 –Fruit

–Peanut butter on crackers

–Baked potato chips

–Tortilla chips with salsa (trans fat free)

–Vegetables with low-fat dip

–String cheese

–Low-fat yogurt

–Vanilla wafers

–Graham crackers

–Animal crackers

–Fig bars

–Popcorn (low-fat or light butter)

 

 In conclusion, we found that school lunch is generally unhealthy.  Although eating one specified meal with all of the included parts and nothing more may be healthy and conform to guidelines, the meals that students actually select are quite unhealthy.  In its current state, it is better for students to bring their lunches if they do not like the components of the meal.  This will allow students to maintain a healthier lifestyle if the lunches that they bring are healthy and follow the suggestions we have given above.  A mass reduction in school lunch purchases may also convince the food service administrators to reform their program to offer healthier choices as a whole - a few healthy choices mixed in with a majority of fried options is not sufficient.  If all the choices are healthy, students will eat healthier, so long as these foods actually taste good.  This means that the foods must look appealing and be fresh.  If students follow the suggestions we presented and those of experts in the field to bring or buy a healthy lunch, they will improve their personal health.  However, if the entire school lunch program is reformed and made healthier, we can begin to improve the health of first our community, and then our nation as a whole.  Thank you for taking the time to read this wiki, and we wish you luck in pursuing better health.

 

The following link is the powerpoint used in the presentation in class.  If you missed anything, it is in here and also above in the wiki.

Our Powerpoint (2007 version)

Powerpoint 2003 Version

 

Credits

     Research and Wiki Paragraphs on Statistics, Problems, and Solutions (as credited above) - Meherab Grewal

     Nutrition Analysis and Research - Fehinti Akande

     Survey Design, Distribution, and Analysis - Brian Baran

     Packing a Healthy Lunch - Brian Baran

     Wiki and Powerpoint Editor - Brian Baran

  

Works Cited

 

Daily Values Encourage Healthy Diet. U.S Food & Drug Administration. 4 Dec. 2008 <http://www.fda.gov/fdac/special/foodlabel/dvs.html>.

Gavin, Mary L. “School Lunches”. KidsHealth. April 2007. Nemours Foundation. 4 December 2008. <http://kidshealth.org/kid/grow/school_stuff/school_lunches.html>.

"General Lunch Data Information" Bloomfield Hills Schools Food Services Nutritional Data. Dec. 2008. <http://foodservice.bloomfield.org/nutrition>.

“National School Lunch Program: Participation and Lunches Served”. 28 November 2008. United States Department of Agriculture. 4 December 2008. <http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/slmain.htm>.

“Take Charge of Your Health”  National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases. Nov 2007. Reproduced in  Health & Wellness Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI:Gale. <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HWRC>.

 Sugar Intake, Diet & Drinks. Diet News and Information. 4 Dec. 2008 http://www.annecollins.com/diet_news