TO: School Superintended,
FROM: Mr. Roman Reigns,
DATE: 12th July, 2020.
SUBJECT: Unhealthy Food in the School and Obesity Concerns
I write this letter to relay my concerns towards the unhealthy eating habits within the school despite some laid strategies to adopt healthy feeding meals for the children. The letter addresses various concerns of poor feeding habits and failure to adhere to the agreed school menu by the meal planner. The school has shifted interests towards our children by letting them consume unhealthy foodstuffs, which is continuously leading to the health concerns of vulnerable children like obesity.
Obesity is a disorder resulting from having excess body fat compared to your weight, height, or age. Obesity is easily seen by observing the physical outlook of an individual, and it is a leading cause of other problems like blood pressure. Study shows that obesity is 40% contributed by the genetics of an individual, while 60 % comes as a contribution from environmental factors. From a genetics perspective, it is very likely for my daughter to become obese, therefore, raising my concern to watch out for her.
Research also indicates the high possibility of contracting obesity due to environmental factors surrounding the person. These factors include things like the type of food one consumes and even the physical exercises and activity surrounding their daily activities. Many kids in elementary school, like my daughter, do not involve in many physical exercises since they are in school or working on their homework at home (Ghadimi & Sajjadi, 2015). The lack of regular physical activity could easily lead to obesity in children if not well managed.
Another contributing factor to obesity is the type and amount of food consumed. Consuming a lot of junk food, such as fries and pizzas, as well as a lot of sugary foods and drinks contributes to obesity in children. For instance, my daughter has severally described the type of unhealthy lunches like fries and pizza they consume in school. Despite having an existing menu of healthy meals, the school’s meal planner subjects my daughter and others to such risky junk foods. Additionally, the school subjects pupils to fruit roll-ups and brown sugar pop tarts for breakfast; these are highly sugar-rich meals that can easily contribute to obesity.
The above grievances have brought about many emotional changes and experiences. As a parent, emotions of sadness and frustration are dominant because of the school’s lack of concern and responsibility. I also feel concerned and protective of my daughter as I cannot bear seeing her pain towards stigma and struggling with simple body functions. Additionally, my daughter is experiencing frequent emotional eruptions because of her new body change. She is concerned she cannot wear her initial size of clothes, and her friends keep mocking her concerning the changes. Such emotional pain could even lead to s mental and physical suffering (Weiten, 2007).
Recommendations: Several recommendations can help the school curb imminent obesity complications. The schools should adhere to the agreed school menu and avoid subjecting pupils to junk and sugar-saturated meals like pizza, fries, and sugar pop starts. The school should also schedule some time to engage pupils in physical exercises that are efficient in obesity prevention (Ghadimi & Sajjadi, 2015).
Conclusion
Obesity is becoming an issue of great concern in the society. Everyone, including schools, should work towards controlling and eliminating it at earliest possible stages. Unhealthy foods and behaviors such as consuming fries and lack of physical exercise could lead to irreversible obesity issues at early developmental stages in school children.