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A student lunch from a Seymour School. (THE HERALD/ SUBMITTED PHOTO)
Over the years of government growth school lunches have become almost as much of a regulated standard as education itself and a new Federal law has enacted a change now affecting Seymour schools.
The new law, which Sevier County Schools have been abiding by, places a calorie cap on in every lunch served to students.
The School Nutrition Association’s newest standards sets the maximum number of calories for a student’s lunch at 650 for grades K-5, 700 for grades 6-8, and 850 for grades 9-12.
Although the underlining intention of fighting child obesity seems beneficial on the surface, local concerns have been brought to the school system regarding the cap.
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2 Comments
Perhaps it would be a good idea for school coaches to get involved. Every school child whether they are involved in athletics or not should be educated on how to count calories, how to journal their daily calorie intake and how to calculate how many calories they need for that day. This is true especially if they are involved in sporting events and other extra curriculum activities. For example, the human body needs 10 calories per pound of body weight to sustain its current weight while only sitting all day. That caloric amount should be the minimum amount per student they each receive and every child will need a different amount according to their size, DNA and daily activities; as long as they are currently within their healthy weight zone. For example, if a child or a teacher plans to swim for an hour that day during or after school they will need an additional 500 calories to sustain their current body weight for one hour. If they are over weight or obese then they should not consume additional calories in order to reach their healthy weight but if they are within their healthy weight zone then they absolutely do need the additional 500 calories in order for their body to function and grow properly.
Any child with ball practice or a game that day during school hours or within two hours following school hours should be allowed an increased adjustment to their lunch calorie allotment for that school day. This not only properly takes care of our school children but it also educates them on how to remain healthy for the rest of their lives. The human brain requires a minimum of 500 calories a day to be healthy and any caloric intake below 500 destroys brain cells. If children are skipping breakfast and only getting 650-850 calorie lunches but are then burning off 500 calories during gym class they are doing brain damage to themselves. This is a vitally important issue to be done right. Malnutrition during the developmental years leads to many physiological disorders including schizophrenia. Every parent should be directly involved in making certain that their child is receiving the correct amount of nutrition daily.
At the same time I would caution that several years ago my 13 year old cousin had to have her gall bladder removed from being obese and making poor diet choices. Parents can not be with their children twenty four hours a day to monitor every bite they take. It is important for schools and communities to work together to protect the health of our future generations. So, while I understand giving in to kids wanting hamburgers, hot dogs and pizzas all the time may sound kind and the right thing to do. It really is not. That kind of thinking only benefits the pockets of medical providers. Therefore, I oppose Phil Roe’s suggested
HR 6418.
I also oppose the nearly $2 Billion in awards and bonuses for VA employees which he supports but which robs our Veterans and am very glad that both Senators Alexander and Corker voter against his Jobs for Veterans bill until this issue is corrected. There are many policies by Roe I oppose which is why I am running against him.
HR 6418 is a simple repeal act with no suggestions for improvement. This bill simply wipes out any effort to help the Nation’s Children understand food and nutrition. The bill is written by Representative Steve King of Iowa. In addition, to date Phil Roe is the only Tennessee Representative who agreed to cosponsor this bill.