The National Diabetes Education Program recommends that teenage students pack a lunch to ensure the meal includes healthy choices. When dining from home isn't possible, the program suggests avoiding fried foods and selecting fresh fruits, vegetables and lean meats for school lunches. The key advice from the group includes maintaining a healthy body weight. With between 16 and 33 percent of American teens classified as obese in 2008, health groups have examined school lunches to determine their impact on teenage obesity levels.
School Lunch Program
Lunches offered at high schools include meals for the general population and meals prepared for students qualifying for free or reduced lunches as part of the National School Lunch Program. A number of schools offer only one general lunch offering that meets the nutritional requirements of the nationally funded lunch program. More than 100,000 nonprofit private and public schools, as well as nonprofit residential child-care facilities, also receive funds from the National School Lunch Program. The federal program expanded in 1998 to include snacks served during after-school educational and enrichment programs for students through age 18. Participating schools earn cash subsidies and receive excess products distributed as surplus under the federal food commodity programs, when available.
Lunch Nutrition Requirements
High schools receiving federal subsidies and commodity foods must serve lunches that meet the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Lunches must provide a minimum of one-third of the daily recommended dietary allowances for calories, iron, vitamin C and A, protein and calcium. The school or district food services develop the specific menu offerings for the students, but the federal guidelines mandate that the lunches include less than 30 percent of the calories from fat and no more than 10 percent from saturated fat.
Teen Nutritional Requirements
The teen years involve rapid body growth and development, including bone development. This period also helps establish eating patterns and habits carried into adulthood. Lunches incorporating a serving of protein, at least one serving of dairy products, significant amounts of fiber and at least two fruit and vegetable servings meet the average daily teen requirements, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Studies reported by Medline Plus in July 2011 link adequate levels of folic acid, a B vitamin, to improved mental ability in teenagers. Torbjorn K. Nilsson, director of the Swedish study done through the Oreboro University Hospital, recommends incorporating foods high in folic acid as part of a nutritious school lunch program.
Teen Health Impact
Diane Whitmore, professor in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University, suggested in 2005 that students consuming school lunches add significant amounts of daily calories and that the food fails to meet the nutritional standards required under the law. The additional calories help contribute to teen obesity and the lack of proper nutrition. Lunch dietary issues impact low-income children in greater numbers due to the reliance on free or reduced lunches as a necessary source of food each day. The Centers for Disease Control confirm the link between poor nutrition and lack of academic success, as well as higher percentages for obesity in adulthood.
References
- Food and Nutrition Service: National School Lunch Program
- BBC: Healthy Eating for Teenagers
- Medline Plus; Higher Folic Acid Levels in Teens Tied to Academic Success; July 2011
- National Diabetes Education Program: Tips for Teens with Diabetes -- Stay at a Healthy Weight
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Facts for Families; Obesity in Children and Teens; May 2008
- "Do School Lunches Contribute to Childhood Obesity?"; Diane Whitmore; April 2005
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