American Students Reject Junk Food

Komfie Manalo – All Headline News Correspondent

Washington, D.C. (AHN) – A latest survey made by the School Nutrition Association has shown that more U.S. students particularly in kindergarten through 12th grade, are shifting to healthy diets and reject junk foods.

The result of the study, made available on Monday show that students now prefer eating carrots and fresh vegetables instead of the usual French fries. The result of the study were drawn from data collated between 1998 and 2006.

Martha Conklin, an associate professor at the Penn State University which conducts survey on school nutrition program and school food service said, “If you present these healthy offerings to children, they may turn them down the first time, but you can’t give up.

“Children will adapt. Choice is important, but they can make those selections from healthy offerings. As choices on the lunch line change, many children are accepting them.”

Also, students who attended the “Don’t Supersize Me: Medical Science” course at the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth’s Summer School at the University of Warwick, said they prefer eating nutritious food but don’t want school officials to dictate their language.

Gifted students consider themselves bright enough to take responsibility for their food choices and don’t think that schools should be allowed to dictate their diet.

All of the students say they would choose healthy option and were aware of the risks of a junk food diet, but 66 percent said schools should not dictate their diet.

Amy Winterfeld, a health policy analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures, said more states are adopting nutrition standards to guarantee healthy food and beverage choices are available to students.

A 2004 wellness program requires school districts receiving federal reimbursements for school meal programs to develop policies that promote the health of students and address the growing problem of childhood obesity.