UNT professor warns of potentially unhealthy eating environment in schools

Every day parents send their kids to school with lunch money, and many may never realize the hefty competition for that money.

"Most parents assume that lunch is a tray with fruit, vegetables, milk, breads and meat," says Priscilla Connors, registered dietitian and UNT assistant professor of merchandising and hospitality management. "But besides the school breakfast and lunch programs, there are vending machines and á la carte sales that can turn a school cafeteria into a mall food court."

All these choices often add up to unbalanced, fatty diets during a time when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports an increasing incidence of obesity and diabetes in 13- and 14-year-olds. This food competition happens most at middle and high schools.

"In middle school, students are asserting their independence and forming lifelong eating habits," Connors says. "Food marketers understand that if children gain familiarity with a product at school it's likely to be their choice as adults."

With vending machines full of limited offerings, contracts that allow companies exclusive market and brand exposure in the school, and á la carte items that resemble convenience store merchandise, students have too many bad options, Connors says. Unlike the School Breakfast and National School Lunch programs, which have defined requirements for a meal, these options have limited guidelines or none at all.

"Left to their own devices, some children are more likely to eat pizza for weeks than to consume the more diverse and balanced offerings of a traditional lunch line," Connors says.

The financial situation of many districts contributes to the problem of competitive foods at school, Connors adds. School districts running on skin-tight budgets often need more funding for their child nutrition programs than federal dollars can cover. This makes revenue from outside companies more attractive, she says.

"In the past, schools in general have been passive about their role in creating a healthful eating environment," Connors says. "They put all the food choices out there and let children decide what's best for them." Now, with rates of obesity going up, she says, schools have an added responsibility to promote good eating habits that lead to lifelong health.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4.7 million youths ages 6 to 17 are overweight or obese, and poor eating habits have contributed to this problem.

Connors says the best thing parents can do is visit their child's lunchroom in person and scope out the dining environment. They should ask to see both the cafeteria's nutrient analysis of meals and the school's nutrition policy, a districtwide written document that covers everything from the approach toward vending machines to admission of outside vendors.

"But while doing these things parents should realize that this isn't an adversarial situation, but a cooperative one," Connors says.

BY RUFUS COLEMAN rcoleman@unt.edu

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