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State helps monitor kids' diet at schools
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Saturday, September 13, 2008 12:24 AM EDT
Editor's Note: Part I, entitled “Summer spent sittin' around,” ran in the Saturday Aug. 30 edition of the Argus Press. Part II, entitled “Sedentary Students: Teachers promote healthy habits in - and out - of classroom,” ran in the Friday Sept. 12 edition of the Argus Press. Part III (below) focuses on nutrition in schools.
SHIAWASSEE COUNTY - With diabetes rates expected to escalate to epidemic proportions in the United States in less than 30 years, it is more important than ever for children to pursue good health, area officials said.
“It comes down to a couple of things: Lack of exercise and all of the fast food and junk that we're eating,” Girls on the Run Council Director Dale Espich said in August. “There are a lot of studies that say these problems can be fixed by focusing on nutrition and getting exercise.”
With physical education getting an overall and extracurricular activities being offered at several area schools, efforts have been made to address physical health.
But what about good nutrition?
Memorial FIT Kids, a program launched in 2005, studied 2,867 area sixth graders over four years. In a study released earlier this year, conclusions were made in categories ranging from Body Mass Index, Healthy Weight, Physical Education and Eating Habits.
“The pattern of eating habits from sixth to eighth grade did not change,” the report stated. “The students also did not change their perceptions of how they were eating, as it relates to keeping their body healthy. Since eating habits are strongly influenced by their parents, it would appear that more intervention at the parental level will be needed to influence the child's eating habits.”
Guidelines for Health
The Michigan Department of Education has set guidelines for food service directors at the schools to follow. The guidelines include monitoring calories, portion sizes, fat content and ensuring fruits and vegetables are served with every meal.
Every school district in Michigan is required to undergo a nutrition review every five years. In March 2008, Laingsburg School District had its review.
“It's a month long process documenting every menu in every building,” Laingsburg Food Service Director Nick DeVault said. “We are serving less calories than the standard levels for K-12 but we serve K-3.”
Gloria Zunker, head the MDE meals program, said Laingsburg passed every category and because it served K-3, the calorie standards did not apply.
“This is just a picture of what the children chose to eat (during the time surveyed),” Zunker said. “They know when the review is coming and they continue with their set meal plan.”
Zunker said it was unlikely the school districts would change its meal plans to meet guidelines for the survey process.
DeVault said Laingsburg has remodeled its menus in its plan of action and has worked for the last few years to make improvements.
“We don't serve any carbonated beverages (in the cafeterias) throughout the district,” DeVault said. “We haven't served French fries for a number of years and we have eliminated fish products based on algae issues children face. Also each building has a full salad bar.”
Other area schools have also changed meal plans based on poor health statistics.
“We do not have any pop machines for student consumption at any of our schools,” Corunna Public Schools Curriculum Director Kari Selleck said. “We have made a pretty heavy statement because we know the facts. The old philosophy of just using vending machines is not something we want for our kids. We have made a strategic effort to limit bad food choices and lower the fat content in the food we offer.”
Owosso Public Schools Food Services Director Sharon Lenard removed all “junk food vending machines and fountain machines” in the cafeterias when she was hired a couple years ago.
Lenard said offering the same options at the larger schools was considered too difficult to monitor.
“The students at the middle and high school are allowed one fruit and one vegetable with their meals,” she said. “We also offer 100 percent fruit juice.”
wrote on Sep 14, 2008 8:53 PM:
Does Corunna still sell Little Debbies in the ala carte line at the high school? What's the fat content of those? "