Preventing childhood obesity among elementary school students in the Monterey County

Childhood obesity has become an epidemic across the United States at an alarming rate. Given this epidemic, it is important to educate our youth about proper nutrition and provide healthier lunch options throughout all public elementary schools. By changing the lunch menu for healthier foods, obesity and other health related problems, such as diabetes and heart disease, could possibly decline. Currently, school lunches have a direct effect on children’s health and schools must lead by example by providing children with food that is healthy and nutritious. Schools must educate children to eat right and teach them lifelong eating habits that are healthy. If not, then our children will lack proper knowledge about nutrition and obesity rates will continue to rise. If children can understand the health benefits of eating healthy and learn to eat unhealthy foods in moderation then hopefully our nation’s obesity rates will drop. At the conclusion of this project, alternatives for unhealthy foods on current lunch menu’s were found and a letter was sent to the Superintendent as a way of raising awareness about the need to eliminate unhealthy foods and only allow one day a week for unhealthy options