Healthy body, healthy mind
The effect of school lunch on student performance.
Nowadays, it's no secret that what people eat affects their daily physical and mental health. When people maintain good nutrition, they can participate more fully and effectively in a wide range of activities. Of course, nutrition also impacts K-12 students, from their academic performance to their behavior in the classroom.
School lunch is critical to the health and well-being of students, especially low-income students — and ensures that students have the nutrition they need throughout the day to learn. Research shows that receiving free or reduced-price school lunches reduces food insecurity,
obesity rates and poor health.
In addition, the new nutrition standards for school meals have a positive impact on students' food choices and consumption, especially fruit and vegetables.
The impact of nutrition on students.
For years, scientists have been investigating the effect of nutrition on student performance. In 2008, a Journal of School Health study found that fifth graders who ate fast food scored worse on standardized literature assessments.
A follow-up study of fifth graders published in The Journal of Educational Research in 2012 linked fast food consumption to declining math and reading performance.
Nutrition can affect students either directly or indirectly. A 2014 report titled "Student Nutrition and Academic Performance" summarizes research on these issues.
Direct effects.
There are several direct effects that include the immediate impact of nutrition on a student's daily performance. Psychological and behavioral problems can be traced back to unhealthy nutrition and poor eating habits.
Nutritional deficiencies of zinc, B vitamins, Omega-3 fatty acids and protein have been shown to affect children's cognitive development. There is also evidence to suggest that diets high in trans and saturated fats may have a negative impact on cognition. This will harm students' ability to learn at the pace necessary for school success.
Researchers have also shown a link between student behavior and nutrition. Access to proper nutrition can help students maintain psychosocial well-being and reduce aggression. This can have a positive effect on students by avoiding discipline and suspension.
Indirect effects.
The indirect effects of poor nutrition can be seriously detrimental to student performance over time. Students with unhealthy lifestyles are much more likely to get sick. These illnesses then affect the number of missed hours. By not attending class, students are much more likely to fall behind. And when they are in class, they are more likely to have low energy and have trouble concentrating.
According to the World Food Programme
"When a person is not getting enough food or not getting the right kind of food, malnutrition is just around the corner"
But when trying to define "right food" one immediately becomes aware of all the "bad" foods that are consumed. It is shocking how such low-quality and harmful food proliferates in local markets and school canteens - without any supervision by the relevant food authorities -.
The effects of junk food are evident in our children who face various forms of illness.
What people don't realize is that these foods are full of carbs, fat, soda, low quality sugar, salt, dangerous artificial flavors, artificial colors, and fried stale foods. Junk food, which is readily available on the streets, in parks and schools, prevents children from maintaining a balanced diet.
This regulation of poor nutrition makes them susceptible to a wide range of diseases including respiratory infections, diarrheal episodes, abdominal pain, skin diseases along with obesity related problems. This is why pediatricians strictly warn young people against eating junk food, as it seriously reduces their immunity to diseases.
Widely advertised, produced by huge national and multinational companies, this low-quality junk food is sold in poor neighborhoods and rural areas. This locally produced scumbag that invaded the local markets was made in unsanitary conditions with unhealthy ingredients, strange packaging and bizarre names. It is even more dangerous and has more harmful and damaging effects on children's health. Go to any school canteen or small shops outside schools and parks and you will find them filled with low quality junk food and fizzy drinks.
School children, in particular, have a high intake of unhealthy food, as they feast on the school canteen in their hunger pangs instead of packing lunch from home. Because cafeterias look more at revenue than health, they stock processed foods instead of providing students with food made from fresh ingredients. Consuming such processed foods is not only expensive for consumers, but also harmful to health.
Making such food available disrupts eating habits; children become addicted to sugar and such nutritionally poor food. Unfortunately, cafeterias are available in all types of schools; even though some public schools do not have a fully functional cafeteria, we see tucked away shops that have established themselves outside, mainly to target children as their consumers. Junk food stores tend to sell cheap foods and drinks rather than nutritionally sound ones, allowing children and their access to these products.
What we don't understand is that our body is made up of nutrients and requires certain types of vitamins and minerals to keep it healthy and strong, to resist foreign bodies and to regenerate. Our bones and teeth need calcium and our muscles need protein. The body needs vitamin A, C to strengthen the immune system. It is made up of 50-75 percent water and needs to be constantly hydrated to flush out all the toxins from our body. Eating high sugar and processed foods not only deprives us of these essentials, but also causes our insulin levels to spike, causing us to immediately turn all the sugar we've consumed into fat.
The question remains, how can we expect our body to be healthy if we feed it everything but what it really needs?
How do we save our children from poor quality foods that target them?
I believe that parents, school management, private sector, media and civil society along with relevant government officials must play their due role in protecting our children from such dangerous foods.
Wide awareness should be created among the children themselves, parents, teachers and shopkeepers about the harmful effects of such foods. The school administration should supervise the type of food that canteens provide. The private sector should play a role in ensuring the quality of these products and shed light on the negative effects these products have on children's health. They should also play a responsible role in preventing environmental risks caused by their products by working with local governments and the media to organize awareness and cleanliness campaigns. Above all, the government and the relevant food authorities should improve their control system. Apart from this, a complaint mechanism should also be created so that the general public can approach them if they see any businesses promoting low-quality junk food and drinks for children.
The newly established local government must protect our children from such substandard food. Parents should ensure that the food their children consume is of good quality and nutritional value, and should educate their children to eat healthily.
The effect of school lunch on student performance.
Nowadays, it's no secret that what people eat affects their daily physical and mental health. When people maintain good nutrition, they can participate more fully and effectively in a wide range of activities. Of course, nutrition also impacts K-12 students, from their academic performance to their behavior in the classroom.
School lunch is critical to the health and well-being of students, especially low-income students — and ensures that students have the nutrition they need throughout the day to learn. Research shows that receiving free or reduced-price school lunches reduces food insecurity,
obesity rates and poor health.
In addition, the new nutrition standards for school meals have a positive impact on students' food choices and consumption, especially fruit and vegetables.
The impact of nutrition on students.
For years, scientists have been investigating the effect of nutrition on student performance. In 2008, a Journal of School Health study found that fifth graders who ate fast food scored worse on standardized literature assessments.
A follow-up study of fifth graders published in The Journal of Educational Research in 2012 linked fast food consumption to declining math and reading performance.
Nutrition can affect students either directly or indirectly. A 2014 report titled "Student Nutrition and Academic Performance" summarizes research on these issues.
Direct effects.
There are several direct effects that include the immediate impact of nutrition on a student's daily performance. Psychological and behavioral problems can be traced back to unhealthy nutrition and poor eating habits.
Nutritional deficiencies of zinc, B vitamins, Omega-3 fatty acids and protein have been shown to affect children's cognitive development. There is also evidence to suggest that diets high in trans and saturated fats may have a negative impact on cognition. This will harm students' ability to learn at the pace necessary for school success.
Researchers have also shown a link between student behavior and nutrition. Access to proper nutrition can help students maintain psychosocial well-being and reduce aggression. This can have a positive effect on students by avoiding discipline and suspension.
Indirect effects.
The indirect effects of poor nutrition can be seriously detrimental to student performance over time. Students with unhealthy lifestyles are much more likely to get sick. These illnesses then affect the number of missed hours. By not attending class, students are much more likely to fall behind. And when they are in class, they are more likely to have low energy and have trouble concentrating.
According to the World Food Programme
"When a person is not getting enough food or not getting the right kind of food, malnutrition is just around the corner"
But when trying to define "right food" one immediately becomes aware of all the "bad" foods that are consumed. It is shocking how such low-quality and harmful food proliferates in local markets and school canteens - without any supervision by the relevant food authorities -.
The effects of junk food are evident in our children who face various forms of illness.
What people don't realize is that these foods are full of carbs, fat, soda, low quality sugar, salt, dangerous artificial flavors, artificial colors, and fried stale foods. Junk food, which is readily available on the streets, in parks and schools, prevents children from maintaining a balanced diet.
This regulation of poor nutrition makes them susceptible to a wide range of diseases including respiratory infections, diarrheal episodes, abdominal pain, skin diseases along with obesity related problems. This is why pediatricians strictly warn young people against eating junk food, as it seriously reduces their immunity to diseases.
Widely advertised, produced by huge national and multinational companies, this low-quality junk food is sold in poor neighborhoods and rural areas. This locally produced scumbag that invaded the local markets was made in unsanitary conditions with unhealthy ingredients, strange packaging and bizarre names. It is even more dangerous and has more harmful and damaging effects on children's health. Go to any school canteen or small shops outside schools and parks and you will find them filled with low quality junk food and fizzy drinks.
School children, in particular, have a high intake of unhealthy food, as they feast on the school canteen in their hunger pangs instead of packing lunch from home. Because cafeterias look more at revenue than health, they stock processed foods instead of providing students with food made from fresh ingredients. Consuming such processed foods is not only expensive for consumers, but also harmful to health.
Making such food available disrupts eating habits; children become addicted to sugar and such nutritionally poor food. Unfortunately, cafeterias are available in all types of schools; even though some public schools do not have a fully functional cafeteria, we see tucked away shops that have established themselves outside, mainly to target children as their consumers. Junk food stores tend to sell cheap foods and drinks rather than nutritionally sound ones, allowing children and their access to these products.
What we don't understand is that our body is made up of nutrients and requires certain types of vitamins and minerals to keep it healthy and strong, to resist foreign bodies and to regenerate. Our bones and teeth need calcium and our muscles need protein. The body needs vitamin A, C to strengthen the immune system. It is made up of 50-75 percent water and needs to be constantly hydrated to flush out all the toxins from our body. Eating high sugar and processed foods not only deprives us of these essentials, but also causes our insulin levels to spike, causing us to immediately turn all the sugar we've consumed into fat.
The question remains, how can we expect our body to be healthy if we feed it everything but what it really needs?
How do we save our children from poor quality foods that target them?
I believe that parents, school management, private sector, media and civil society along with relevant government officials must play their due role in protecting our children from such dangerous foods.
Wide awareness should be created among the children themselves, parents, teachers and shopkeepers about the harmful effects of such foods. The school administration should supervise the type of food that canteens provide. The private sector should play a role in ensuring the quality of these products and shed light on the negative effects these products have on children's health. They should also play a responsible role in preventing environmental risks caused by their products by working with local governments and the media to organize awareness and cleanliness campaigns. Above all, the government and the relevant food authorities should improve their control system. Apart from this, a complaint mechanism should also be created so that the general public can approach them if they see any businesses promoting low-quality junk food and drinks for children.
The newly established local government must protect our children from such substandard food. Parents should ensure that the food their children consume is of good quality and nutritional value, and should educate their children to eat healthily.
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