The Education System and Obesity

The education system in America, in theory, cannot focus its efforts only on the mental well-being and learning of our youth, they must also be able to maintain their physical well-being. The obesity rates in our country’s youth continue to climb while blame for this seems to move from fast food corporate greed to individual self-discipline. Recognizing the many factors that contribute to obesity is important in understanding that this issue is far from black and white. However, the solutions for this must begin at a place of development that occupies a majority of a person’s life: schools. Schools are the first line of defense and the most suitable place to begin formulating solutions to the obesity epidemic in the United States. Our education system, along with local, state, and federal governments, must recognize that schools are the first place to fight obesity. The money and time put into developing schools must be prioritized. There is much to lose if schools are left unchanged but everything to gain if the small sacrifices are made early for the end result.

In addition, the number of solutions that exist beyond recess, healthy lunches, and P.E. are numerous. The maintaining and reimplementation of recess throughout schools will allow for students to properly expel healthy amounts of energy and provide jobs for adults supervising. This results in less misdiagnosing students with learning disabilities and more students focused within the classroom, which, in turn, leads to more academic success. Although the issue with food waste has previously been discussed, one such solution involves composting. Schools whose food waste goes to waste are not properly utilizing their opportunity. Two solutions lie in using the waste as compost or using the waste as compost for any gardening projects either within the school or beyond. The increase of time allotted to students as well as a reversal in the process of lunch to recess would decrease waste. The more time a student has to eat combined with an increased appetite from the lunch recess will partially solve the early-set waste crisis. Solutions are not mysterious or non-existent, it is parents, local government representatives, and the federal government that must collaborate and focus on a future driven change rather than an immediate profit-driven system.

The costs of obesity go far beyond the costs for schools to be improved. It may take time for the results to bear fruit, however, the same logic can be applied to the costs of obesity. The costs did not develop overnight, they took years and decades of developing into what they are today, which may be more than $215 billion a year. The money going into these programs would eventually be paying for itself, as the obesity costs would decrease and the productivity of the nation would increase.

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