Fighting Childhood Obesity in NYC Schools

Fighting Childhood Obesity in NYC Schools

Although childhood obesity is literally an epidemic, it does seem as though public schools are at least trying to take a step in the right direction by changing the food they serve to their students. Most recently, a school in the Bronx has been featured in The New York Times, written by Susan Dominus.

DeWitt Clinton High School used to be like any other, serving less-than-healthy foods to their students. With new initiatives to fight childhood obesity, Mark Barrett, a chef at Henry's Restaurant in New York City, has joined forces with the school's kitchen staff to make the dining experience healthier. He began by purchasing for the school a $20,000 food mixer, which he envisions will be used for making pizza dough, rather than serving unhealthy frozen pizza. He will also be hosting a training session for employees of the school cafeterias to help them learn to prepare more healthful meals.

New York City schools have already begun to focus on nutrition, serving only low-fat milk and whole-wheat breads, offering salad bars, and replacing canned vegetables with frozen. Vending machines have also been revamped, especially at DeWitt Clinton where even the Pop-Tarts are whole-grain.

Although kids may still opt for the pizza in the lunch line, it certainly helps when the only option for dessert is fruit and there are plenty of vegetables to choose from at the salad bar, which is what DeWitt Clinton is offering.

Chefs, such as Mark Barrett, will work together with school cafeterias to make healthy food that also will be appealing to kids. "Kids won't eat healthy if it tastes like a cardboard box," Mr. Barrett said.

Schools may have to get rid of the pizza entirely if they want their students to try new, healthier foods. When DeWitt Clinton offered a bean stew provided by the New York Coalition for Health School Food, the students still opted for the reheated pizza.

As we know at Camp Shane weight loss camp for children, kids will sometimes need to try new foods when it comes to eating healthy. At our camp, everyone is served the same meal, portion controlled, and our campers are often surprised by the foods they enjoy while at camp. Kids are often hesitant to try something new when it means an adjustment in their comfort zone, but Camp Shane knows that it takes a combination of eating healthy and exercising to lose weight.

What are your thoughts on serving healthy food in schools? Do you think schools should get rid of unhealthy food entirely? Do your schools offer fresh fruit and salad bars for the students?

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