Day one, snack one: a blackberry Nutri-Grain Cereal Bar. Day two, snack two: a Peanut Butter Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bar. Day three, snack three: Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili Tortilla Chips ... but only a 1-ounce package.
This is just a sampling of some of the foods students are allowed to eat while in school.
More than nine months ago, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York prohibited schools from selling homebaked goods as fundraisers because he wanted to put a halt to the obesity epidemic.
He is now allowing children to sell things such as Doritos and Pop-Tarts — which can be found in vending machines at schools — but still restricts the sale of anything homebaked, such as brownies, cookies or apple pies. Everything being sold must follow 11 criteria in order to be fed to New York's students.
The New York Times said in a Feb. 23 article that the types of food being sold must be in a single-serving package and under 200 calories.
Many argue that this ban on traditional bake sale items takes away from the funds needed in schools to keep extracurricular activities running.
Now, the government is not only controlling what people eat, it's taking away opportunities children have to engage in activities with their peers.
By and large, the government is subtracting from children being qualified in the work industry because they won't have experience from extracurriculars, which could result in people not doing their jobs properly, and consequently result in the country crumbling from within.
Also, sugary drinks are being replaced with low-calorie, smaller-proportion drinks in schools, according to MSNBC.
Say goodbye to what it means to be a child — which means sometimes eating sugary foods. You only live once, and when you're young it's acceptable to not deal with consequences of eating unhealthy foods for a miniscule part of life.
If this keeps up, say hello to a government-controlled diet to block this obesity epic.
If America wants to control the obesity epidemic, it should focus on encouraging exercise. According to Treadmill Online, running on a treadmill for one hour can burn 700 calories. Why isn't the government installing treadmills into high schools to encourage students to workout?
The government should focus on encouraging extracurricular activities for sports, and it should force to students to exercise more during school hours. The concept of a student sitting in a chair for more than seven hours, five days a week, really doesn't do anything to aid in the fight against obesity.
President Barack Obama wants to make the school day even longer. We'll end up with a government restricting what children can eat to stifle obesity, longer school days (more sitting) and less revenues going to extracurriculars that can actually help the weight problem.
It seems like an oxymoron that the government seems to be fighting obesity, then turning its ear to the other factors involved in the obesity battle.
If the government wants to fight this epidemic, it must have the support of the people. It doesn't mean forcing them to eat certain foods, but it would mean encouraging them to engage in more activities.
I teach aerobics at Ball State University, and the number of students I see turning up for aerobic classes is miniscule in relation to how many students attend the university.
For a small price, Ball State provides students with aerobic classes all day. You could take up to four classes in one day, every day of the week.
Not only that, but we have free gyms. Students could fight against obesity at Ball State University if they really wanted.
If we want to stop the government from taking control, we must take control and define our limits within ourselves. The opportunities to fight against obesity are right here — it's just a matter of grabbing onto it.
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