It is common knowledge that junk food is generally unhealthy and has a low nutritional value. Unfortunately, junk food tastes nice to us – seriously, if someone offered you a gooey chocolate brownie and a plate of broccoli, which would you take? However, that aside, I believe that the sale of junk food in school canteens should be banned, in view of improving students’ behaviour, reducing litter in schools, and decreasing New Zealand’s obesity rates. This will also mean that the schools are practicing what they’re teaching the students.
Firstly, children’s behaviour in class. As you can imagine, the many additives present in junk foods available to students today result in poor concentration, hyperactivity and other behavioural problems on the children’s behalf. Teacher’s in schools where the kids eat a daily diet of junk food from their school canteens wonder why their pupils aren’t better behaved. As all the sugar and junk food that their diets consists of can lead to peaks and drops in their blood sugar levels. This means that their behaviour is prone to be hyperactive and lethargic.
A study made evaluated that once children were eating regular, healthy meals, they were less likely to be tired, paid better attention in classes, and had a better overall behaviour. This led to better test scores and overall academic results. If schools were to ban selling junk foods in their tuck shops, schools would see student’s behaviour and performance rates improve drastically.
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Secondly, litter. Today, many people are concerned about plastic pollution, and about how it triggers global warming. This is definitely a very real problem that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. If you think of different junk foods, the majority of them are packaged in plastic – chips, lollies, chocolate etc. As plastic isn’t biodegradable, it is dumped in landfills, or in the ocean. The plastic is left to pollute the Earth, and, yes, contribute to global warming. However, there is another problem that the ban of junk foods and their plastic packaging can raise. All this plastic packaging needs to be disposed of after the snack has been eaten, however, and unfortunately most of it seems to be discarded in differing places, other than rubbish bins, by irresponsible students.
I know that most schools value their schools’ image, and see litter as being a hazard to safety and health. If schools were to discontinue selling junk foods, the people that look after the school and spend so much time picking up the kids’ rubbish would have more time to work on other projects in view of the schools maintenance and sustainability, or else the school would save money because they wouldn’t have to employ as many people to care for the schools image. Therefore, if the selling of junk food was banned in schools, litter would be reduced, and, hopefully, a little of our carbon footprint.
Finally, health. Obesity rates in New Zealand are very high. Our country has the third highest adult obesity rate in the OECD (which combines 34 countries), and almost one in three New Zealanders (over 15 years) is obese, and for those under 15, every one in 10 children are obese. In the past 33 years our obesity rate has increased by 16%. These statistics are shocking, showing that our government better find a solution soon. I think that schools are one of the main places where children learn to eat and live healthily. Schools are responsible to teach their students to make the right lifestyle choices.
However, are the schools actually leading by example for their students, and practicing what they teach? Unfortunately not, it seems, as many schools tuck shops are primarily selling junk food. In most cases this means that even though the students are taught to live and eat healthily, to have the junk food there, easy and convenient, they tend to eat it. If schools were to realise the seriousness on how this effects the message they’re trying to send to NZ kids – about eating healthily, I think that they probably wouldn’t sell junk foods anymore. I think that the government should ban all junk food in school tuck shops, but, also, take a further step towards helping to prevent obesity in New Zealand by banning ALL junk foods in all schools nationally.
If the sale of junk food was banned in schools, and students were to go through schools not only being taught, but practicing eating healthy, this would not only mean that by the time they become adults, even parents, they’re well aware and informed as to the risk and how bad it is to eat junk foods. As most kids take cues from their parents as to things like exercising, eating and having a positive attitude towards their body image, this will mean that kids of the next generation will be hopefully living healthy balanced lifestyles. Not only will this reduce obesity in New Zealand, but it will also mean that the added health risks, like diabetes, facing New Zealander’s today will be dramatically reduced.
In conclusion, I think that it is the governments responsibility to take it upon NZ schools to ban junk foods permanently. Not only will this mean that schools are getting the right message about living and eating healthily, but it will mean that schools images will be tidier and more professional, and the teachers will have better behaved students that perform better.
