A weighty issue: Experts say 17 percent of children — 3,900 in Centre County — overweight or obese
Along with lack of exercise, the American diet is being blamed for the growing number of overweight children. Health and Human Services says that only 21 percent of children get the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables each day, and the number of children who eat food outside of their home is increasing.
In August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued new regulations for school lunch menus. Cafeterias are to serve fewer calories, more fruits and vegetables and fewer proteins and carbohydrates.
While some schools received backlash from students because of the changes, Megan Schaper, food service director for the State College Area School District, said the district didn’t receive the same reaction.
“Because our school meals previously met most of the new meal requirements, the changes we had to make this year were less dramatic that what was experienced in some other schools. We didn’t have the strong backlash that some school districts saw. But our participation is down 3 percent from last year,” she said.
BeWell Associates nutrition consultant Angie Wallace often works with children and their families on incorporating more fruits, vegetables, proteins and healthy fats into meals. She said enforcing healthy eating habits early in life is crucial.
Wallace is a fan of community-supported agriculture, known as CSAs, which allow families to buy food from local farmers who put together baskets of produce each week and will deliver or have the customer pick it up.
She said she believes in eating fresh food as much as possible and that processed and genetically modified foods loaded with sugar are big contributors to childhood obesity.
The World Health Organization says processed food is a main reason that more than 40 million children younger than 5 were overweight in 2010.
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Sherry Fritz, Dr. Sears Certified Health Coach, 866-508-2910 Sherry@SherryFritz.com
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