@JLeslie I’m definitely not going to disagree that many of us go to extremes when it comes to “healthy” eating. I firmly believe that everything is fine in moderation. I think the idea that there are “good” vs. “bad” foods is ludicrous. I’m fit, healthy, and very conscious of getting in adequate nutrition and exercising on a more-than-regular basis. However, I still eat pizza, burgers, fried foods, etc. – and perhaps more often than some might think after discovering just how health- and fitness-conscious I am. When I was in high school, we had a hot meal line and a salad bar. We had a nutritional law come in while I was in school, too, though I’m not sure if it was federal or state. I have to assume the rules are stricter now, because we still had pizza and fries and all that. And not “healthier” alternatives – I mean greasy, delicious individual Tony’s pizzas that contained over 500 calories each. The fries were baked, but now significantly lower in calories than the ones they fried. I asked my niece, who is currently in elementary school, and she listed pizza and corn dogs as regular menu items at her public school. So…I’m not sure what the big problem here is.
But let’s say some schools have completely banned foods like pizza and burgers and are only serving bland, low-calorie foods. Most kids eat one meal at school – lunch. I don’t see any harm in schools making sure those lunches include plenty of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, etc. It certainly isn’t going to harm them to eat it. Will it solve the obesity problem? No. That problem is created at home. However, perhaps it’s a tiny step in the right direction. Kids whose parents let them eat whatever they want may not even be exposed to certain vegetables or anything other than white rice/bread. There’s nothing wrong with white rice or white bread if you ask me, and I regularly eat both, but whole grains bring something to the table as well. We do often go to extremes when determining what is healthy, but there’s no reason for parents to be throwing a fit because the schools are now serving lower calorie, lower fat foods (though, someone should tell them that fat in foods does not make you fat). If parents want to feed kids pizza and burgers at home, that’s their right. And, as I’ve said, there’s always the option to bring what they like to school.