Healthy habits

Updated: Nov. 13, 2015

It’s a lifestyle that goes commonly unacknowledged, a disease commonly untreated. It’s how foreigners brand America when they want to belittle our nation. The heavy and unhealthy demon so abundant in our communities is obesity, and it starts in the victim’s own home.

Young children are at the greatest risk for obesity because they follow the poor example of their parents. Livestrong.com confirms that “overweight kids are more likely to be overweight in adulthood.” This is because the obese lifestyle is instilled in children by their parents and the longer a habit exists, the harder it is to break.

The Surgeon General  reported that overweight children have a 70 percent chance of carrying obesity into adulthood, and an obese parent in the mix increases those chances by 10 percent. An obese parent is just as harmful as a negligent parent that turns a blind eye to his child’s obesity. The New York Times reported that “in a recent study in childhood obesity, more than three-quarters of parents of preschool-age obese sons and nearly 70 percent of parents of obese daughters described their children as ‘about the right weight.’”

Childhood obesity is often taken less seriously than adult obesity due to the misconception that all children have faster metabolisms than adults, or they have more time to change their habits. This, however, is not the case.  

In a study published in January 2007 in “Journal of Pediatrics,” lead researcher David S. Freedman found that 70 percent of obese children aged 5 to 17 had one or more risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The fact that this can be prevented yet still occurs at such a high percentage is disgusting.

Considering the importance of guiding kids towards healthy adulthood, it is key to implement a healthy environment in schools. In 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama made the health of America’s youth one of her top priorities when she launched “Let’s Move,” a nationwide campaign encouraging children to exercise at least 60 minutes per day with an ambitious goal to abolish childhood obesity within a single generation. This project also aims to address businesses to market healthier food for kids and encourage parents to promote healthier food choices at home.

Since the launch, societies nationwide have shifted to making healthy a trendy lifestyle. Salad and smoothie restaurants thrive on every corner and going to the gym isn’t so bad if you can post a cute selfie on your Snapchat story. This is one bandwagon that would behove Solon High School to join.

Solon does have one of the most well-respected athletic programs in the area, with non-cut sports to encourage participation and a district commitment to avoid pay-to-play. Solon administration clearly does consider the physical well-being of our community, however; this is contradicted by what’s provided in our cafeteria and throughout the school in our vending machines.

Cookies and other desserts disappeared from school cafeterias and soda machines are a scarcity in so many schools – just not ours. With all of these positive changes working to fight obesity, why do 1,000 pounds of pending body fat in the form of soda machines sit in our senior commons? Students can walk into school, purchase 40 grams of sugar and chemicals and head to first period to consume it, all before 8:00 a.m.

Making diet sodas, astronomically sugary orange juice and fatty chocolate milk so easily accessible is extremely detrimental to the reputation of Solon High School and the health of our community.

At Solon, our “healthier” beverage machine offers orange and apple juice containing more than 32 grams of sugar per bottle. What’s wrong with fresh squeezed? Sure, the cost would be higher to supply healthier products like this, but isn’t it worth it?

High School is supposed to be where students can discover themselves and develop positive habits to carry into their college and adult life. It’s important to recognize the significance of providing the right choices to the younger community before it’s too late.