Table of Contents
Introduction
School is an important place where most students consume up to one-half of their daily calories. However, there are many vending machines in American schools that provide foods for their students. Is it good for them? The answer is absolutely not. Because those foods are almost all junk foods, such as chips, candy bars, and soda drinks, they will lead to poor nutrition. Poor nutrition in American schools can be a serious problem for students’ learning, and school administrators and parents can take steps to prevent it or lower its impact.
First of all, poor nutrition causes a huge number of negative consequences on students’ learning. According to the Longman Dictionary of American English, poor nutrition, that is malnutrition, can be defined as an “illness or weakness” as a result of not eating enough foods or not eating good foods. In the article “What causes bad nutrition – not enough power or not enough vitamins?”, many children in the world suffer from various diseases or undergrowth due to malnutrition. Lacking nutrition and energy, students are less likely to go to school, less likely to stay there, and more likely to struggle academically. Moreover, malnutrition can cause obesity (Duncan Green and Maria Faciolince, 2012). The Lancet, a medical journal, also claims that an overweight childhood or obesity all is result of a poor diet (“Child nutrition,” p. 1387). Poor nutrition radically impairs children’s cognitive function and measurable academic achievements, especially in their attention, short-term memory tasks, and motivation.
Indeed, poor nutrition does much damage, but school administrators and parents can take on the task to avoid them. In the YouTube video “Michelle Obama on Childhood Obesity at New York City High School”, she suggests, “… Doing more for our kids, parents could cook more in home and schools provide more healthy foods for students …” (Michelle Obama, 2015). There are many practical actions against the harmful effects of malnutrition on children.
127 our experts are availableright now
Then, here are the specific actions: First, schools need to fix the vending machines to sell fruit juice, milk, and prepared meals instead of junk foods; schools can provide their students with more choices and nutrient foods in lunch. Second, schools may build up effective policies and create innovative programs for students’ health. For instance, school administrators can hire a nutritionist to develop meal plans and promote better nutrition. Third, parents could learn to cook healthy meals and develop healthy eating habits, providing plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain products.
Conclusion
In conclusion, poor nutrition can be caused by a lack of food or an unbalanced diet that is missing or insufficient in one or more nutrients; due to poor diet in American schools, students are more vulnerable to disease and less able to concentrate at school. Thus, school administrators and parents should take more focus on students’ diet and provide more nutrition and balanced foods for them; in this way, students can have increased learning capabilities.
