Former President Bill Clinton's School of Diet Health

Bill Clinton has recently been in the news spearheading a school lunch program that tackles the poor dietary habits our schools.  Our school lunch program has been in Hot Dog City since school lunches went up for sale decades ago.  I can still smell the burning cabbage mingled with the scent of fried chicken when I entered the school cafeteria as a young girl.

As with every move towards something good, there are a few hitches.  For example, not everyone is able to eat sugar-substitutes found in diet canned drinks.  And what's going to happen to that poor kid who shows up with a sack lunch from home that contains a creamed filled cupcake?

Diet Bites has supported healthier school menus for years.  But there is another very important part of the Diet Pie that we feel is still not being addressed.  A healthy weight and overall good health isn't solely rooted in the Daily Diet. Other factors such as the gene pool, age and growth rate also impact weight - AND activity which is vital in strengthening small hearts and lungs.

With school kids glued to a desk 90% of the time, this isn't the healthiest prescription for a young, fit body. In the good old days, kids got plenty of activity in helping mom and pop with chores around the farm, around the house - wherever they called home.

These days, the problem deepens as kids are bombarded with homework.  And not just a five or ten minute session - rather assignments and projects that leave them up into the late hours of the morning at times.  If a kid ends up with several teachers who are Homework Sergeants, it's a living nightmare.

So here's the choice:  1. Do homework and make the grade.  2. Get in the activity my body craves and fail.

It appears that both options lead to failure of some sort.

Diet Bites recommends that the school system not only take a good look at their school menus, but at the activity levels implemented throughout the day.  

Are most hours spent chained to a desk?  

Do all kids get a chance of getting outdoors to enjoy some sunshine and fresh air while soaking in a bit of Vitamin D?  

And how much homework is being doled out?

It's time for our education system to get smart!

Return Home to Diet Bites > Return to Body Fat Index of Articles > Master Site Map