School Lunches Blamed As More Americans Too Overweight To Join The Military

[kpete]

School Lunches Blamed As More Americans Too Overweight To Join The Military

MARY CLARE JALONICK | 04/20/10 09:24 AM | AP

WASHINGTON — School lunches have been called many things, but a group of retired military officers is giving them a new label: national security threat.

That's not a reference to the mystery meat served up in the cafeteria line either. The retired officers are saying that school lunches have helped make the nation's young people so fat that fewer of them can meet the military's physical fitness standards, and recruitment is in jeopardy.

A new report being released Tuesday says more than 9 million young adults, or 27 percent of all Americans ages 17 to 24, are too overweight to join the military. Now, the officers are advocating for passage of a wide-ranging nutrition bill that aims to make the nation's school lunches healthier.


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[CLANG]

1. Good!

[Captain Hilts]

2. 40% of draftees were rejected in the first few drafts of 1940, '41. In a crunch

the military learns to deal with it.

They're whiners.

I'd be more concerned about having kids on ridalin, zoloft, etc. sign up.

[frazzled]

3. Well, kids don't eat only at lunch time

While I agree school lunches are (and, frankly, always have been) abysmal, that can't be the only answer to the obesity problem. There are the endless snack aisles at the supermarket; the supersized soft drinks; the interminable snacking; the pizza-for-dinner syndrome, etc.

Here's one area where I think we can't blame schools entirely. Which is not to say I am not a huge advocate of improving school lunches and stressing nutritional issues through health classes.

[Arkansas Granny]

9. Exactly what I thought, also. These kids eat at home, too, and that meal

comes from fast food places way too often. Just take a look at the cars in the drive thru lanes and see how many of them have children in them. Couple that with the snacks and soft drinks that comprise a part of their diet at home and factor in the lack of exercise from sitting inside watching tv or playing video games and you are going to wind up with overweight kids.

There is no easy fix to the problem and all of these areas need to be addressed. Children need to be offered more nutritious foods at school and at home. There needs to be more emphasis on exercise, too.

I'm sure I'll catch some flak for this remark, but I get tired of hearing that they won't eat the better foods when they are offered. It may sound cruel, but if they don't have the option of choosing junk food, most will eat the more nutritious foods when they get hungry enough. They won't starve if they miss a meal and it will sure increase their appetite for the next one.

[SOS]

4. In 1942

Many were rejected because they were too thin and malnourished.
Thanks to Wall Street in 1929, Americans were literally too thin and weak to serve in the military.
That's why we have the school lunch program.

[Fumesucker]

5. Videogames, cable TV and a culture of fear don't help..

I know quite a few parents who are afraid to let their kids go outside and play without constant adult supervision so the kids mostly stay inside and play videogames or watch cable TV.

Cartoons and kids shows on 24/7 several channels, it's nuts to expect kids to get adequate exercise when there are so many couch potato alternatives.

[Arkansas Granny]

10. And what do they see advertised on those cartoons and kids shows?

Fast food and junk food.

[Fumesucker]

11. Yep, good point.. n/t

[demigoddess]

6. maybe, but they also cut out recess and phys ed years ago

when I was in school, we had phys ed every day from 7th grade through 12th, it was required. my youngest was only required one semester of phys ed all through high school to graduate. They started cutting down and then cutting out entirely recess in the 90s. They usually combine it with lunch, so the kids are eating lunch and then expected to run around, usually they are working on catching up with their homework or finishing their lunch. By the time they get to high school, they are hooked on soda pop. I have seen some parents put soda pop in baby bottles because it was orange flavored, they figured it was ok for babies.

[Dappleganger]

7. Exactly!

Not just cutting out recess, but making it 'organized recess' so there's more standing in lines to wait your turn in a game than running around in true free time.

School lunches are full of bad carbs full of fattening cheese.

[Solly Mack]

8. So...they're saying young people are too fat to die for their country?

Because everyone knows the primary reason for healthy eating and exercise is so you can join the military.



Don't let your weight kill, let us!

Snort

[ejpoeta]

12. here's an idea!!! how about the military can run the food and phys ed programs through the schools.

that way they can have the students military ready and in return they save on basic training costs and the schools can still provide phys ed and 'recess' too!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

13. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the proverbial silver lining. -nt

[smirkymonkey]

14. Chow down, kiddies!

Maybe they'll be fat, but at least they won't have to kill and be killed (as long as they don't take the eating unhealthy food to an extreme). No more stupid wars!

[MountainLaurel]

15. That's really amusing

Because one of the reasons school lunches were created to begin with was that too many young men were unfit for military service in WWII because of illnesses and other problems caused by malnourishment.