Curing Our Kids:
Better Food for Better Health
To learn more about many
interesting farm-to-school
projects across the nation
visit www.farmtoschool.org/
media_2005.htm.
Click here for more on Oklahoma's
farm-to-school initiative.
Poor Diets, Poor Health, Poor Performance
Besides the numerous health risks associated with poor diets
and
inactivity, nutrition researchers
have observed links between child nutrition, academic performance
and behavioral problems.
Poor diet has been shown to adversely affect
the ability to learn and can decrease motivation and attentiveness.
"Poor diet" not only refers to unhealthy
eating habits, which can lead to obesity; it also describes
the diets of those who lack the resources for acquiring enough
food on a regular basis. In 2005, Oklahoma
had the highest rate of households in the U.S. experiencing
hunger.
In Oklahoma, 21% of children live
in poverty; however, in many rural Oklahoma counties, the
rate exceeds that, with rates above 30% in five counties:
Pushmataha, McCurtain, Seminole, Choctaw and Harmon,
all classified as rural.
Statewide, 54% of Oklahoma students qualify
to receive free and reduced price lunches, and in many rural
counties, rates are well over 65%. Improving the nutritional
choices made by school kids could only help in confronting
the ill effects of both obesity and hunger upon student health
and school performance. |
— Doug Walton
It is surely a sign of the times that more and more Oklahoma children
are overweight and experiencing health problems as a result.
The kids’ “obesity crisis” is a problem nationwide.
During the last 30 years in the United States, the percent of overweight
children ages six to eleven has quadrupled, while the percent of
adolescents who are overweight has increased by two and a half
times.
Data collected by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows
16% of Oklahoma’s high school-age males and six percent of females
are overweight, resulting in an average of 11% for both genders.
Another 14.2% are “at risk” for being overweight (see
sidebar for definitions).
While Oklahoma does not currently collect statewide obesity data
on children, the Texas Department of Health found an alarming 39%
of fourth-graders and 37% of eighth-graders were overweight or
obese.
Kids at Risk
Children and adolescents who are overweight have an increased risk
for developing two serious diseases: cardiovascular disease and
diabetes. Overweight kids have greater incidence of high blood
pressure, elevated cholesterol and insulin levels, and arterial
calcification.
In fact, results from a 30 year heart study in Louisiana showed
that at least 50% of overweight schoolchildren already had two
or more risk factors for heart disease.
As if the threat of heart disease isn’t enough, a rapidly
growing number of youth are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes
(also known as adult-onset diabetes), a disease rarely found in
children prior to the mid 80’s. Obesity is a major risk factor
for this type of diabetes.
Although Type-2 diabetes was extremely rare in Oklahoma children
only ten years ago, fully one-third of children with newly diagnosed
diabetes have Type-2, according to the Oklahoma State Department
of Health. Children of Hispanic, African American or Native American
ancestry are at higher risk.
The long-term health effects from early exposure to these life
threatening diseases have leading health professionals extremely
concerned. The likelihood of developing complications from diabetes
goes up the longer one has the disease. Complications from diabetes
can include greater risk of cardiovascular disease, impaired vision
or blindness and kidney disease.
As if the risk of physical disorders wasn’t enough, obese
children and adolescents have higher incidences of social and emotional
problems such as low self-esteem, anxiety and depression.
Furthermore, severely overweight children miss four times as much
school as normal-weight students, and mounting evidence suggests
overweight children attain lower grades.
It used to be that kids “outgrew” their “baby
fat” as they matured. However, research shows overweight
children and adolescents today stand a good chance of becoming
overweight or obese adults.
The situation is so serious that researchers writing in the New
England Journal of Medicine suggest obesity and its related diseases
could shorten the average lifespan of an entire generation – today’s
children – by two to five years.
The Skinny Behind the Bulge
A number of interconnected factors likely contribute to the childhood
obesity problem in Oklahoma and throughout the country.
One factor frequently cited is over-consumption of fast-food.
Between 1977 and 1996, children increased their intake of foods
from restaurants and fast food outlets by 300%. Soft drink consumption
by adolescent boys tripled over a similar timeframe.
Research published in the journal Pediatrics confirmed that children
who eat fast foods consume more sugar-sweetened beverages, less
milk, and fewer fruits and non-starchy vegetables, than children
who do not.
The conclusion that could be drawn from this is that too many
children are not eating balanced, nutritious meals. Other statistics
back this up: Nationally, only two percent of school-aged children
consume the recommended daily number of servings of all five major
food groups.
In Oklahoma, only 14% of high school students eat five or more
servings of fruits and vegetables per day, well below the already
low national average of 22%.
Getting Healthy with Farm-to-School
From local school boards to state capitols to Washington, a variety
of people and institutions are looking for ways to improve children’s
nutrition. In recent years, the USDA has emphasized the importance
of fresh fruits and vegetables as part of what it calls “a
healthy school meal environment.”
In 1997, the agency began a comprehensive effort to connect small
farms to school meal programs. The 2002 National School Lunch Act
encouraged institutions participating in the school lunch and breakfast
programs to purchase locally grown food to the maximum extent practicable.
These efforts, often referred to as “Farm-to-School,” are
becoming widespread— in 400 school districts in 23 states,
including some in Oklahoma.
What is farm-to-school? Farm-to-school programs feature school
purchases of food (usually fresh fruits and vegetables) from local
farmers. Nutrition lessons are often coordinated with the fresh
produce being served in the cafeteria.
Comprehensive farm-to-school programs also include school gardens,
farm/farmer visits, food tastings and cooking classes, and agriculture-related
curricula, all designed to get kids empowered and excited about
eating healthy food.
The overarching goal of these efforts: help kids develop healthy
eating habits that will last a lifetime.
A major premise behind farm to school projects is that kids will
eat more fruits and vegetables when they have easy access to a
variety of high quality, fresh items such as on a school salad
bar. Research is showing this to be the case for kids of all socio-economic
backgrounds.
Kids respond favorably to having more fresh options, and locally-grown
produce is the pick of the crop. Because it’s harvested at
peak ripeness and brought to the consumer in the shortest time
possible, locally grown is often of the highest quality – attractive
to the eye, with pleasant odor, flavor, and texture – attributes
that encourage kids to dig in. The result: better nutritional health.
Research into existing farm-to-school programs is confirming that
students choose significantly more servings of fruits and vegetables
when given the choice of high quality, farm-fresh produce. In Los
Angeles, the University of California reported the Farm-to-School
Salad Bar Program increased elementary school kids’ consumption
of fruits and vegetables by 50%.
Practitioners of farm-to-school efforts that include gardening
and/or cooking activities, contend that when the superior taste
of farm-fresh items is combined with a new-found appreciation of
where food comes from, a transformation often occurs within participating
students.
Researchers with Oklahoma State University found that students
involved with an after-school garden project at Leach School in
Oklahoma increased their fruit and vegetable intake (and physicalactivity)
while decreasing consumption of candy, desserts and chips.
A number of projects have also shown positive changes in self-esteem,
attitudes toward school, social skills,and behavior in students
participating in garden-based learning programs.
Taken together, these innovative farm-to-school approaches are
helping
to give children (and adults) a deeper understanding of the important
connections between healthy farms, healthy foods
and healthy bodies.
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