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Nina Zandipour
Jim Rogers
Government 4
1 November 2015
Obesity: Eating Life Away
Imagine a life where breathing is difficult, profusely sweating is a problem, and people
constantly stare, making insecurities feel greater than before. These horrors are a reality for
people dealing with obesity. Today, childhood obesity rates are higher than they have ever been.
Some may say that school lunches have a part in this issue. However, others may say that the
child is responsible for their own actions and weight gain. Regardless of the actual cause, by
enforcing healthy lunches in schools, health risks can be avoided, annual medical costs for
obesity can be reduced, and the overall childhood obesity rate will decline.
Obesity is known to have many serious health risks. Children who are obese early in life
are very likely to stay obese through adulthood which will lead to even greater health risks.
These risks include heart disease, cancer, type two diabetes, high blood pressure, liver disease,
and many more (niddk.nih.gov).According to cdc.gov, "childhood obesity affects approximately
12.5 million children and teens." Obesity is primarily caused by unhealthy eating, but by making
healthy school lunches a norm, children will eventually start naturally gravitating towards
healthier options on their own (healthyeating.sfgate.com). Healthy food at school would be a
change from the current situation: kids who think it is okay to eat unhealthy because that is what
they're served at school. Keeping their eating habits healthy will keep away from any serious
health problems.

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Annual medical costs for obesity have never been so high. The estimated medical costs
for obesity, in 2008, was $147 billion (cdc.gov). Between 1987 and 2001, obesity was
responsible for twenty-seven percent of the increase in inflation-adjusted medical spending
(hsph.harvard.edu). This increase is a result of the health problems caused by obesity. Lifetime
medical costs for obese children are about $19,000 per child (globalhealth.duke.edu). Compared
to the medical costs of normal weight children who may become obese later in life which would
be around $12,900. Declining the obesity rate would help lower the medical costs.
By providing healthier school lunches, childhood obesity can gradually decrease. Within
the last thirty years, childhood obesity has doubled and adolescent obesity has quadrupled. Only
about 20% of school districts in the nation offer plant-based food options in at least one school
(pcrm.org). This meal change can reduce excess calories from being added, but only is it is
implemented in more schools. Some schools provide an elective that teaches students about
nutrition and how food effects the body (Poppendieck 2). If a child understands the effects
certain foods have on them, they will lean away from unhealthy options. If children are made to
eat plant-based foods instead of junk food, it will put them on a healthy track that leads to a
reduction of obesity rates.
Although some believe that junk food doesn't necessarily cause childhood obesity, which
is instead caused by their habits and the effects their parents have on them. Children, not
franchises, are responsible for what they eat. Parents and guardians are in charge of what their
children eat (uncnews.unc.edu). They help their children adopt an eating pattern and their eating
habits. A child's environment such has their friends, family, or community have an influence on
their actions and habits (nlm.nih.gov). For example, if a child went out with a friend, then the

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friend has the ability to persuade the child into buying junk food. The child and their relations
should be the ones to blame for their careless eating habits.
In order to avoid health risks, reduce annual medical costs for obesity, and decline the
overall obesity rate, schools shall supply healthier lunches for their students. Not only are plantbased foods great for helping with healthier eating, but they are great substitutions for students
who may be lactose-intolerant or strain away from animal products due to health or religious
reasons (pcrm.org). According to pcrm.org, "plant-based lunches are some of the healthiest
options a school can provide." The obesity rate needs to die down or else the mortality rate
caused by obesity will only increase. There are children who become seriously ill and sometimes
even die because of how dangerous obesity is. Schools need to start providing plant-based food
options in order to help stop childhood obesity rates from growing.

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Works Cited
"Causes and Risks for Obesity - Children: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National
Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
"Economic Costs." Obesity Prevention Source. N.p., 20 Oct. 2012. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.
"Fast Food Not the Major Cause of Childhood Obesity." UNC News. N.p., 15 Jan. 2014. Web. 23
Oct. 2015.
http://www.pcrm.org/health/healthy-school-lunches/legislative/healthy-schoolmeals-act-faq.
"Over a Lifetime, Childhood Obesity Costs $19,000 Per Child." Duke Global Health Institute.
N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.
"Overweight and Obesity Statistics." Overweight and Obesity Statistics. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.
Poppendieck, Janet. Free for All: Fixing School Food in America. Berkeley: U
of California, 2010. Print.
"Reason for Healthier School Lunches." Healthy Eating. N.p., n.d. Web. 19
Oct. 2015.

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