By: Lane Johnson
Despite a national panic about obesity and other nutrition issues in America’s adolescents and children, school administrators and teens themselves are taking steps to ensure that Athens-Clarke County students stay healthy.
According to the Center for Disease Control, nearly one-fifth of adolescents – persons between the ages of 12 and 19 – were obese in 2007-2008, and in that same year an estimated one-third of adults were also said to be obese.
“Most people who see me are concerned with weight management,” said Katherine Ingerson, a registered dietitian for the Food Services Administration at the University of Georgia. As part of her job, she sees university students every day to discuss various health concerns they may face.
Ingerson also said, however, that she often sees the exact opposite problem in students – they aren’t getting the proper nutrients they need in their diet. She said that students’ diets often lack in things like calcium, fiber, and iron.
The National Institution of Health Office of Dietary Supplements suggests that adolescents need more calcium and iron in their diet than any other age group.
Meanwhile, the Clarke County School District recently adopted a new curriculum that is completely focused nutrition and food science.
“Last year, we expanded our family and consumer sciences (FCS) courses and adopted an entire nutrition and food science pathway at both high schools that includes the following 3 courses,” said the school district Director of Public Relations and Communications, Anisa Jimenez.
These new courses include food, nutrition and wellness, food and nutrition through the lifespan, and food science. Vera Giles, who currently teaches food science and food, nutrition and wellness, says that her courses focus on the science of nutrition such as how different ingredients in food interact and how food technology increases the food supply.
Students, however, credit their healthy eating habits to factors unrelated to their coursework. Jake Schaefer, 15, said that he felt he and his friends all tend to eat fairly well, despite alarm around the nation.
“I have to though because I run cross country,” said Schaefer.
Schaefer also said that he always had dinner with his family each night and that his mother made sure to cook a well balanced meal for the family.
Experts suggest that one of the best ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle is simply by eating with family and practicing healthy habits at home. “The habits you form in youth stay with you for life. Children and teens who do simple things like eating regular meals with their families are more likely to have positive associations with food, be at a healthy weight, and are less likely to develop eating disorders,” said Ingerson.
At the end of the day, promoting good nutrition in children and teens is a task that involves several different actors including families, schools, and the community.
“Eating nutritiously is a conscious decision and often times it’s hard to break bad eating habits. Good nutrition starts from birth and it has to be practiced daily in our homes and in our community,” said Giles
Side Bar
The United States Department of Agriculture makes several suggestions when it comes to keeping a healthy balanced diet including: substituting whole grain products for refined products, eating a variety of fruits and vegetables each today to keep things interesting and maximize nutritional value, consuming fresh ingredients at meals to reduce sodium intake, choosing whole fruits instead of fruit juice, and switching to fat free or low fat dairy products.
Looking for more information about Nutrition? Check out the MyPyramid (www.mypyramid.gov) and MyPyramid Tracker (www.mypyramidtracker.gov) websites. MyPyramid is a free and interactive resource that offers healthy lifestyle, nutrition and exercise information for all ages. Tracker lets you track your food for up to a year and gives complete personal nutrition analysis with fun graphs and easy to understand comparisons.
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