Children all over America are becoming increasingly affected with diseases, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension, being a direct result of their diet and lifestyle, according to National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

First lady Michelle Obama is just one of the prominent American’s trying to bring healthy changes to schools in an effort to help combat these health issues.

According to Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move website, children consume at least half of their meals at school, and for some children, the food they eat at school is the only food they will eat regularly. So, it’s only right to start making these meals more healthy.

Mrs. Obama wants to “cut the amount of fat and sodium and set sensible calorie limits based on the age of children being served.”

Yet, the solution to this problem of rising obesity within children is a controversial issue in today’s society.

The big problem is, should legislatures start changing and regulating what students consume at their school?

Campaigns like the Healthy Schools Lunch campaign are designed to inform government and school officials, food service employees, and parents about a healthier food diet for students.

The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has included different programs that provides for healthier diets and food choices all over the United States.

One of the programs in the schools includes the National School Lunch Program, a federally assisted meal program started in 2011, working in 100,000 public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions providing nutritionally based lunches.

In 2010, The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was put in place to update meal patterns and nutrition that’s based on the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

This new meal plan went into effect last year and includes increasing availability of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and gradually decreasing sodium content in school lunches.

Senior Jessica Plesser noted that “healthy school lunches seems like a really difficult to change to make . Because of lack of funding it’ll be really hard for certain schools to even be able to afford better quality lunches.”

School lunches must meet these Federal requirements, but decisions about what foods to serve and how they are prepared are made by food service supervisors.

Leyden recently has modified its menu to become healthier.

Elinda Lee, Leyden’s food service supervisor, confirms that recent health laws affect school lunches and are mandated by the National School Lunch Program.

Items, including customized salads, different fruit choices, customized sandwiches with healthy condiments, turkey wraps, and other healthy sides to choose from are some of the many healthier things on the menus.

One of the biggest concerns for students consuming these lunches is, can lunches be healthy and still be yummy?

Taylor Newcomer defends healthy lunches by saying, “I think school lunches can be healthy and tasty if you make the right decision on what to have.”

“The unhealthy things that are served at lunch are still okay to eat but maybe only once in awhile,” she added.

Senior Olivia Chadwell applauded the initiative to include healthier options but admits she’d like to see more.

“I think it’s good that Leyden made healthier changes, but it’s not often we see too many plates that look healthy at all.”

Today, students are constantly complaining about the lack of tasty foods, but then they also complain about their weight and wanting to eat healthier. I think in order to help kids make this positive change, legislatures should be allowed to change food menus in lunch rooms to offer more nutritious, yet tasty, food options.

The move to a healthier lifestyle is just a bite away, we just have to choose which bite we want to take.