By Nick Buglione
For the week of April 4-8, soda and candy will be removed from the vending machines, and salads, wraps and other healthier options will replace the high-fat, high-cholesterol foods usually served for breakfast and lunch.
If students respond positively to what's being dubbed "nutrition week," it's hoped that other schools in the district will adopt similar initiatives, and permanent changes will be made to cafeteria menus. "This is a small step in the direction we hope to take," said Sherry Lombardo, an East Meadow High School health teacher for the past five years. "We're not going to change everything overnight."
The high school's planning management team, a committee of parents, teachers, students and administrators, came up with the idea in response to the alarming increase in childhood and young-adult obesity in America.
Putting nutrition week together has been a year-long effort, and the school has been going out of its way to promote the health kick to students. One of the marketing classes even came up with a catchy slogan: "Find your 'weigh' to a healthier life."
Although the school is using a little humor to advertise the program, the problem it seeks to address is no laughing matter. Obesity now ranks second, behind smoking, among preventable causes of death in America, leading to approximately 300,000 fatalities a year, according to the American Obesity Association.
Today, 64.5 percent of the population is overweight, and one out of every Americans is obese. Weight problems pose myriad health risks, and increase the chances of heart disease, diabetes and a number of other ailments.
Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi recognized the issue last week in a press conference announcing the 33rd annual Long Island Marathon. "Obesity is a national problem," he said. "It's becoming a major issue for our young people."
Most experts agree that the nation's weight problem begins in early childhood. At a young age, children often indulge in food loaded with fat, sugar and cholesterol and lead increasingly sedentary lives, thanks to the advent of the Internet and other technologies.
A 2003 study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that 15 percent of high-school students in New York state were at risk of becoming overweight, and that 13 percent already were. It also found that 77 percent of students surveyed in the state did not participate in sufficient moderate physical activity.
"It's no wonder obesity is a problem," said Michael Pekor, an East Meadow resident and phys. ed. teacher in the Jericho School District. "They are surrounded by junk food." And schools are partly to blame, he said. "Even school lunches tend to be very heavy in fat and fried food," Pekor said. "Very few items are baked or grilled."
East Meadow High School is no exception, with hamburgers, french fries, pizza, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese and soda served regularly.
"One of the main reasons I felt [nutrition week] was important is I didn't think the food being served was healthy, and I also felt it was very bland," said Jacob Wilkins, 16, a junior who serves on the high school's planning management team. "That was where the motivation came from."
Fruits and salads can be found in the cafeteria, Wilkins said, but they're not prominently displayed, and students seldom select them.
The East Meadow School District purchases and prepares all the food served in its cafeterias, and says it meets the federal government's nutritional guidelines for schools, said East Meadow High School Principal Mark Scher. But even Scher agreed that nutrition week is a great idea. "Kids have always said, 'If we had salads, if we had yogurt, we would eat it,'" he said. "We want to see if that's true."
So, for five school days, things like salads, meatless baked ziti, baked chicken and wraps will replace the french fries, hamburgers and chicken nuggets. Vending machines will also be stripped of their candy, chips and soda, and students will only be able to purchase fruit juice and water. Meanwhile, fruit, eggs and oatmeal will dominate the breakfast menu.
Surveys will be given to measure the students' response to their new options, and if it's positive, healthier foods could be permanently added to the menu and other schools would be encouraged to do the same. Scher said the district is already forming a committee to re-examine the food that's served in the schools.
"I would think that in this day and age, with everything going on, that more healthy foods would be served in the schools," said Christina Parkman, parent of an East Meadow High School sophomore and a member of the school's planning management team. "It is troubling that [my son] doesn't have those choices."
Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
