Banning junk foods in school

The topic of junk food in schools has been hotly debated over the past few years. Some schools in North America have moved to try and ban all junk food completely. But the reverse argument is that if a student really wants junk food then he will walk to a nearby convenience store anyways.

But banning junk food in school may assist in preventing childhood obesity according to a San Francisco State University study. The article, published in the March issue of Health Affairs was also presented on the website sciencedaily.com

The study examined eight years of data on body mass indexes from fifth and seventh grade students. Between 2003 and 2005, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law several bills banning junk food from schools. Before the law took effect obesity was on the rise in both groups in the study. The result of the new laws? The increase in the number of overweight boys in grade five and boys and girls in grade seven.

While childhood obesity in Canada isn't as major a topic of discussion as in the United States, Canadian school boards could learn a few things about choosing healthy foods for students to eat.