Essay Sample on Junk Food in Schools

Schools should restrict access to junk food in order to promote healthy eating habits in developing students. Junk food in schools promotes children getting into the habit of eating unhealthy foods and having long-term health problems later in life because of the junk food being served. Some believe that junk food is the way to go and that it’s a common act to go out and buy junk food instead of healthier options. An idea from Issues & Controversies states, “since students often have access to junk food at home or while going to and from school. Since students are going to buy junk food anyways, the money they spend on it might as well go to help schools,” This supports the idea that kids already have the option to get junk food themselves and to make a profit off of said kids. Not only is this a very immoral way to take advantage of students in a certain school but it goes against schools' teachings of being and eating healthy. Just because it’s easy doesn’t make it healthy and children should be provided healthy options for food especially at school where budgets are much higher than what they may have at home. Parents and administrators can limit the choices of what is available to the healthiest options in this category while still meeting the “craving” that some students have for these food items. 

Adding to the reality of promoting and having junk food inside of schools, junk food has a synthetic taste that is very addictive. Junk food, “lacks nutritional value and contains excessive levels of sugar, salt, fat, and calories.”(Issues & Controversies) so adjusting to a balanced meal with good nutritional value is difficult. Not consuming enough dietary fibers and other vital nutrients will diminish any chances of maintaining a healthy body and encourages obesity. 

Unhealthy foods on a regular basis leads to a high risk of developing diabetes in adulthood and other high-risk life-long problems like liver damage, heart complications, and obesity. A study from Issues & Controversies tells, “the percentage of overweight children between the ages of 6 and 11 in 2003-04 was more than double that of the late 1970s.” As junk food becomes more apparent in school there is still the fact that consuming an excessive amount on a daily basis will have negative effects. Metabolism functions and immune systems will become weakened because of the fact that junk food prevents the absorption of healthy nutrients and minerals needed to be healthy. Insulin resistance, diabetes, and hyperglycemia are all common in an unhealthy lifestyle and are what schools are promoting. Schools have the money and means for providing children with healthy food and there should be no excuse for giving them unhealthy food while they are under the school's roof.