Everything in America is bigger- bigger skyscrapers, bigger cars, bigger opportunities and, unfortunately, people. According to research in US News, America is ranked as the number one obese country in the world. As seen in the infographic below provided by US News, at least 32.8% of the American population is obese. 25.8% of the population of children in America is obese, and this is becoming a bigger and bigger problem as the obesity rate rises every year.

There’s no wonder that about $147 billion is spent each year trying to battle obesity. The government has been getting involved as well, and First Lady Michelle Obama and her “Let’s Move” campaign are working to reduce child obesity. One of the main program goals of the “Let’s Move” campaign is to improve the nutrition of children by creating healthier guidelines for school lunches. This change is said to bring positive results and help the government combat the fight with childhood obesity. Schools all over the nation have already been impacted by this change and our very own Leyden is one of these schools. A change in our lunch menus can already be seen, but the real question is this: will a change in our student’s eating patterns really occur?

According to Mrs. Obama, “Children’s choices will depend on what is most visible and easily accessible; seemingly small differences in the school environments can have large effects on what children eat.” Last year what was visible and accessible in the Leyden cafeteria were calorie-packed chocolate chip cookies, ten different varieties of chips full of sodium, sweet peanut butter & jelly sandwiches filled with sugar, pretzels and cheese topped with loads of salt, any kind of candy bar you could imagine, and we can’t forget all the different unhealthy varieties of drinks like sodas and sweet teas that students washed their unhealthy snacks down with.

The Leyden menu has been changed completely because of the “Let’s Move” campaign. Bosco sticks are the only remains of the past, but every other item most students used to love are only available in healthy alternative versions. The only cookies available are ones that are made with significantly less sugar and more whole wheat, chips have been replaced with low calorie crackers, candy bars no longer exist, and beverages are only available in eight ounce quantities and no beverage that has more than sixty calories is served. In addition to the change of the snack bar menu, the main meals have changed as well. More healthy salads, sandwiches, and wraps are available and the main meal of the day also is made with more whole wheat, less sodium, and less sugar. Every student is required to take either a fruit or vegetable along with their meal.

But as food services employee Ms. Gurnig noted, “Just because you can make students take something doesn’t mean you can make them eat it.”

Ms. Gurnig is right, no one can force a healthy diet upon the children of the nation. It is a choice that the children and adolescents have to be willing to make themselves. The government can only hope to give the children a push in the right direction but the rest is up to the students. The school and government can only limit the calories, but they do not have the power to limit the quantity of the items you purchase.

Culinary teacher Ms. Sweeney advocates, “The diet change will bring a small change initially because students will think a little more because they are limiting their calorie intake. However, they are not limited the quantity of the entrees they’re buying, so even if one entree is reduced to 350 calories and you can buy five of them, you’re not really making a change.” This especially rings true for the older generations of students at Leyden. If they are used to buying calorie-rich meals and they are used to getting that number of calories to function they will either have to buy more food in order to fill up or they will walk around hungry all day.
Custodian Mr. Eugene Jewgieniew observes that about half of the students end up throwing out the vegetables and fruits they are required to take along with their lunch anyways.“Maybe it will change the diet of the new generation, but the older generation will continue to eat what they are used to eating,” Mr. Jewgieniew claims.

It will be hard to wean the older generations off their unhealthy diets, but you can always teach an old dog new tricks. Mrs. Obama and her “Make a Move” campaign understand this, and they are looking for a gradual change to occur to student eating habits, not a sudden one. This change will be beneficial for both the oldest and youngest generations of students in the future. Better eating habits and behavior will be encouraged and seeing these healthier options can change the mind of many about what they choose to eat in the future. Culinary teacher Mrs. Griffin provides a hopeful example: ”I teach the personal chef and dietetics class offered at Leyden. I see that after students are exposed to the healthier alternatives that they aren’t really exposed to prior to the class, they see the food and taste it, and after they do they realize it is actually really good. It’s a surprise sometimes, but after they find out the nutritional benefit of the ingredients they eat they go home and make these healthier choices again.”

Even though the new dietary policies for schools are predicted to bring at least a small change, we shouldn’t stop there. We can’t expect schools to nanny the children and to lead them to make healthier choices because as soon as they walk out the door, no one controls what they do. More classes that offer insight on healthy living should be offered, fast food chains should aim to create healthier products, media should cover why it’s important to eat healthy, and most importantly, we all have to look out for one another and advise our loved ones that healthy eating is essential. We need to remind them that at the end of the day, a juicy hamburger or a warm, chewy chocolate chip cookie isn’t worth becoming obese, getting diabetes, or risking heart disease. Only the individual can make a change, but we can all help each other.