Providing Healthier Learning Environments for Children

Running Head: PROVIDING HEALTHIER LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR CHILDREN 1
Providing Healthier Learning Environments for Children
Adrian Aleman
Southwestern Adventist University

PROVIDING HEALTHIER LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR CHILDREN 2
A teacher was in class teaching her students fractions when suddenly, the bell
rang. Children plunged out of their seats and headed over to the cafeteria. If one listened closely
they could hear children laughing in the distance. It was time to eat lunch. Stomachs were
growling from starvation. Everyone was ready to eat. Students received their trays and they took
their place in line. As they inched closer, they noticed that today’s lunch consisted of a
hamburger and fries. Some students were satisfied as there weren’t any vegetables on the menu.
Besides parents were always trying to force healthy foods down their throat.
Most children tend to have a similar mentality. As people, we want food that
not only taste good, but looks appealing. Junk food is produced at a faster and more convenient
rate than healthier foods. The main objective of the American dream is to work hard and make
money. Our time is consumed mostly with work, family, friends, and other various activities. It’s
hard to find time to make meals for ourselves, so occasionally we grab a bite to eat. Eventually
after eating out a few times, we become desensitized to the fact that what we’re eating isn’t
exactly the best for us. Parents who allow their children to consume immense amounts of junk
food either don’t value their child’s health or don’t receive enough income in order to provide
healthier based foods.
Childhood obesity continues to increase each year. A child can be at risk
when their overweight or obese to health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke,
cancer, asthma, hypertension, and various other diseases. Our generation consumes fast food at a
far more alarming rate than previous ones. Public schools back in the 1980’s and 1990’s
provided quality food that was healthier and more nutritional for their students. Children were
active and played outside often. The trend has shifted to electronics and social media outlets.

Most children today are far more concerned with their cell phone or playing videogames, instead
of engaging in physical activity.
It’s more expensive to provide health based foods, because the quality of
food is fresh and more nutritional for the body. Junk food is a less expensive option. This is just a
common myth. We’ll talk about this later in the paper. A School Board will select an option that
bests suites their budget and needs. Children usually eat what’s placed right in front of them.
However, this is not an effective way to help students maintain a well-balanced lifestyle
consisting of diet and physical exercise. To instill good eating habits, children need to be
encouraged and taught in the correct way. My idea for a campaign is to raise awareness around
the Johnson county area about the harmful effects of junk food and that providing healthier
learning environments for children can help benefit their health.
Parents need to be educated and informed about the unhealthy foods that
public schools provide for their children. Once parents understand the harmful effects of junk
food and what it can do to their child’s body, they can start implementing a plan by raising their
voices to the school board and making a change. Children should also be informed about the
food that their consuming. Providing healthier food can help reduce the chance of disease,
obesity, and can add years to a person’s life. The childhood obesity rate has increased
dramatically over the last decade, to over 18%. It affects children between the ages of 6 to 11 in
the United States. Most parents allow their children to consume whatever they please. This may
not affect their bodies right away, because children tend to have fast metabolisms. Eventually it
will cause harm to their health and can even lead to a variety of health problems.
Junk food can have a negative effect on the brain. A person’s cognitive ability
can be altered, it can lead to symptoms of depression, brain damage can be caused, and it can

lead to various mental disorders. A major problem for people as they become prone to eating
continuously and convulsively is mental health disorders. People who eat an unhealthy diet are at
risk, because it can start to interfere with neurotransmitters that are responsible for happiness and
feelings of well-being. Consuming too little of the amino acid tryptophan, can increase feelings
of depression and anger. Higher intake of junk food or “comfort food” may very well increase
risks of depression by causing poor health in general. A diet of junk food that remains relatively
steady can rob the brain of certain nutrients it needs to function properly. Most junk food leaves
your body deficient of vitamins and minerals that your brain needs.
For parents to fully understand the effects of junk food, a seminar will be
conducted at one of the major schools in the area. Parents and students will be encouraged to
participate. In order for change to occur parents and students will have to voice their opinions.
Parents will more likely speak up if their children are pressuring them to be involved with the
issue at hand. The information that’s provided will be factual information from previously
conducted studies of what junk food can do to the body. My campaign will start next school year,
in the fall of 2017. My job as a communicator is to persuade, appear knowledgeable, and to show
credibility. An audience should be able to trust and have confidence in what you’re saying.
A good speaker keeps their audience engaged. Two theories that can
effectively impact this campaign are the sleeper effect and language expectancy theory. The
Sleeper effect under the right circumstances is the delayed impact of a message that may be more
effective than its initial impact. For instance, suppose one of your good friends asks you for
advice. They have a drinking problem and they’re open to suggestions. As a good friend would
do, you display facts and previously conducted studies that you’ve reviewed about the effects of
alcohol and what it can do to the body. At first your friend may not consider it, but eventually

after a while the impact of the message may take a delayed impact and it can possibly be taken
into effect. Language Expectancy theory is our expectations about what types of language are
normal to use when trying to persuade other people. Trigger words that create a logical and
emotional response can help influence and persuade an audience. Words such as obesity,
overweight, and death are a few examples.
Identity is when the audience recognizes your campaign or product in a
favorable way. My campaign will establish trust, confidence, and identification with the audience
through the use of factual information and previously conducted studies of what junk food can
do to the body. Social media would be a great way to promote through media platforms such as
Facebook and Instagram, to parents around the area. Parents may feel overwhelmed by
computers and their children’s internet abilities, but they have to start adapting to the internet to
discover its benefits.
People generally have the misconception that healthier foods are more
expensive than junk food, however this is not the case. Studies have shown that eating healthier
cost less. Schools receive a certain budget from the school board to provide food for their
students. Healthier food options can be provided within their money capabilities. It costs around
$1.50 more to provide healthier based foods but overall, it’s cheaper. For example, when
someone purchases a bag of apples it can costs 3 to 4$. When someone buys Taco Bell it can
costs around 2 to 3$ for a single burrito. Purchasing a bag of apples can save you money, it may
cost 1$ more, but it will last longer since each bag has a large quantity of apples versus having
only one burrito. Taste is the first thing people consider when purchasing food. Others don’t
want to make the effort to eat healthier.

Obesity is the one of the leading causes of death among children between the
ages of 6 to 11. This is a major concern in the United States and its’s affecting the lives of our
children. Childhood obesity can reduce life expectancy by five or more years. Generally, families
who have a low-income can’t provide the healthiest foods for their children, so they’re at higher
risk for obesity and health related problems. The only food that can occasionally be provided
that’s healthier for children is at school. Advertisements can portray positive images, with
information about junk food that may influence a parent or child to purchase a product that they
normally wouldn’t. Advertising agencies do a fantastic job in creating advertisements that
appeal, encourage, and make you hungry.
Spreading a message to students around Keene who attend public schools in
the area would be a great idea. I would like to create a poster that displays facts and makes
healthy foods look more appealing to children. It’s kind of like the D.A.R.E program that was
introduced in the early to mid-2000’s. The entire idea was focused on preventing children from
consuming drugs and alcohol and the harmful effects of what it could do to the body. It’s a great
way to show children that improving their eating habits can help them live a longer, healthier
life. However, this is not the only way that a person can maintain a well-balanced life. Physical
exercise is just as important. It’s recommended to exercise each day for 30 minutes. Some
children don’t even exceed this amount in a week.
Living a healthy lifestyle can be challenging. A person who wants to instill
good lifestyle habits will have to change the way that they’re living. This often happens when
health problems start to arise due to unhealthy eating and carelessness to take care of oneself.
Doctors suggest eating three meals a day and not to snack in between. People usually snack to
satisfy cravings, to prevent hunger, to pass time, and when they’re dealing with unsettling

emotions. When snacking it’s suggested to munch on fresh fruit. A diet that consists of fruits and
vegetables may reduce the risk to heart disease and strokes. Drinking plenty of water is also
another problem that Americans struggle with. It’s suggested to drink eight bottles of water a day
to maintain hydration. When a person has a lack of fluids in their body it can lead to dehydration.
A few years back, first lady Michelle Obama implemented the Healthy Food
Act. She joined honor schools taking part in USDA’s HealthierUS School Challenge. This
challenge recognized schools across the United States that created heathier school environments
for their students, by providing exceptional nutrition education, beverage choices and nutritious
food, physical education, and opportunities for students to participate in physical activity.
Educators have seen what childhood obesity can do to a child, it can affect their long-term
academic success and their physical and emotional health.
Michelle Obama has a vision for every school in America, she wants to
continue to encourage educators around the United States to share their good ideas and practices
to others to help keep them inspired. Schools are trying to reinforce what many parents are
already teaching their children at home. They want to provide access to nutritious foods and
physical activity during school hours. The White House honored the challenge schools, by
voluntarily agreeing to provide healthy meals under the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This
includes a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, fat-free milk, and whole-grain foods.
Another act was created in 2010 by former President Barack Obama. It was
called the Healthy, Hunger-Free Act and its major focal point was to improve child nutrition.
(Vilsack 2010). This law allowed the USDA for the first time in 30 years to make changes to
school lunch menus by improving nutrition and the hunger safety net for millions of children.
Recently Donald Trump became the 46th President of the United States of America. This may put

Michelle Obama’s significant impact as first lady at jeopardy. A quote by former first lady
Michelle Obama stated that “It's about ensuring that all of you have everything you need to learn
and grow and succeed in school and in life.” The School Nutrition Association is an organization
that’s recently wanted the US Department of Agriculture to provide saltier foods for children and
to cut whole-grain requirements in half. This would mean less healthy school lunches and more
tastier ones.
It’s been over seven years since the “Let’s Move’” campaign first launched.
Beginning in 2010, 2.7 million children were obese. Over a two-year period from 2010 to 2012,
childhood obesity among children between the ages of 2 to 5 dropped 3.7%. The bad news is that
childhood obesity among children between the ages of 12 to 19 has increased. The Healthy Food
Act Plan has fed over 31 million children around the United States. At first Obama’s plan didn’t
go as planned, as she was faced with a rebellion by children who were tweeting out photos of the
mandatory meals of fruits and vegetables. Kids were calling it “Gross” or “Yucky mystery
mush.” Then it was taken a step further with teens posting YouTube videos stating that they were
dying due to the lack of calorie intake and that they were starving. The Federal Program had to
loosen some if its rules as a result.
One school took matters into their own hands. Administrators at Penn-
Trafford High School in Harrison City opted to pull the high school out of the National School
Lunch Program. Their excuse was that students had to wait in longer lines for food and that they
were throwing away fruits and vegetables. This was causing the district’s food-service program
to lose money. Healthy meal rules limit the amount of calories schools can serve and as a result
their cafeteria was remodeled in food-court style. Students are happy that they have a variety of
choices to choose from now, instead of only having one choice. Their reasoning is that they

believe students at that age can make decisions for themselves and they should be a little more
informed about making smarter choices. (Urbanski 2017)
Michelle Obama was the first one to unveil MyPlate, which is the current
nutrition guide by the United States Department of Agriculture. It was released the year she
issued the Healthy Food Act and it followed the same type of guidelines. MyPlate is a food circle
that displays a plate that’s divided into four food groups and a cup that’s divided into one food
group. MyPlate has been displayed on various food packaging products and in nutrition
education around the United States. The plate is divided into four sections of approximately 30
percent grains, 10 percent fruits, 20 percent proteins, and 40 percent vegetables which is
followed by a smaller cup representing dairy such as a glass of milk or a cup of yogurt. Parents
don’t have the time to measure out exactly how much of a particular food that they’re serving
their child. Schools should provide the proper portions of food for children. (“What is
MyPlate?”)
When I first started this project, my plan was to travel around Johnson
County preferably Keene, to introduce the idea of implementing healthier and more nutritional
foods for students. One of my main obstacles was budget, because most schools deal with this
problem in America. After associating with a few principles and cafeteria managers they pointed
me in the direction of the School Board, because they were the only ones who could create
change. The first thing they told me was that Michelle Obama had already introduced this
movement back in 2010 with the Healthy Food Act. Most schools around America have now
introduced major changes to their lunch menus. Not every school has taken this act into effect,
because it’s the School Board’s decision.

Budget costs and the amount of money that a school district obtains,
determines if a school can move forward with the idea of adding nutritional and healthy lunch
changes to their menu. It’s all about saving money and at what costs. Luckily most schools can
provide healthier food for students since they have the money and means to do so. Most people
believe that healthier based foods are more expensive than junk food, which isn’t true. Larger
quantities of healthy food can be purchased at a far cheaper rate than with junk food. Fruits and
vegetables have been slowly introduced into school lunches and kids have thoroughly enjoyed it.
Schools are now required to serve whole-grain and fat free items in their lunch menus.
There are pros and cons to this argument. By introducing the Healthy Food
Act in schools you’re teaching children to eat healthier, to make better lifestyle choices, and to
participate in physical fitness activities. By not allowing this program you’re teaching children to
eat whatever they please and to believe that what they’re consuming is doing actual good to their
bodies. Parents at home should make more of an effort to provide fresh and organic foods. Eating
healthier can reduce weight gain, mental health disorders, and can increase life span. When
parents buy unhealthy foods like junk food or fast food it’s more for convenience and is likely
because of a lack of activity. Healthy foods provide the nutrients that our body needs to continue
to process our bodily functions.
It’s sad to see children that are obese, if only there was something that we
could do to help. In these instances, parents are the ones to blame if their child is overweight or
obese. Parents contribute to growing obesity problems. Children mirror everything they do based
off their parent’s behavior and living habits. Good dietary habits start at home, if parents are
eating poorly, chances are their kids are too. One key to solving obesity rates among children is
to improve food environments. Parents are the primary role models to their children whether

positively or negatively and they can influence their children’s health. It’s concerning how many
children are obese in the United States today and the future of America is at stake if something
isn’t done about it.

Bibliography
Urbanski, Dave. "High school drops Michelle Obama’s ‘healthy’ lunch program. Here’s how
that’s working out." The Blaze. February 21, 2017.
http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/02/21/high-school-drops-michelle-obamas-healthy-
lunch-program-heres-how-thats-working-out/.
Vilsack, Tom. “Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.” USDA. December 2, 2010.
https://www.fns.usda.gov/tags/healthy-hunger-free-kids-act-0.
“What is MyPlate?” Choosemyplate.gov, Last modified April 19, 2017,
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/MyPlate.

Providing Healthier Learning Environments for Children

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