10 SIMPLE THINGS
Parents and Schools Can Do to Stop the Fatness Epidemic
- Phase out junk food on school campuses and offer healthier alternatives
- Overhaul the school lunch program to make it more appetizing, nutritional, and popular
- Reinstate daily recess and physical education, and promote physical activity throughout the day
- Encourage walking to school
- Keep schools open longer on a daily and annual basis for after-school activity
- Support farmers' markets in lower-income neighborhoods
- Buy toys, clothing, and foods for children that encourage healthy eating and activity instead of those with promotional "tie-ins" for high-calorie foods and sedentary activity
- Encourage school sports teams and other school clubs to sell nonedible items--such as school supplies or T-shirts and water bottles with the school logo--rather than candy for fundraisers.
- Advocate the removal of Channel One from classrooms, since it encourages passive, sedentary learning through television watching and beams in commercials for junk food
- Lobby administrators to fix broken water fountains and install additional ones as alternatives to soft drinks
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sharron Dalton is Associate Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University. She is the editor of, most recently, Overweight and Weight Management: The Health Professional's Guide to Understanding and Practice (1997).
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