School Officials Plan For Healthier Meals

Although the school system has improved the nutrition and reduced the fat content of its traditional lunches in recent years, the schools still provide unhealthy "a la carte" snacks aside from traditional meals, said Superintendent Neil Pedersen.

Studies on children's obesity and recent criticism of the fast food industry have prompted some members of the school board to voice concern about the unhealthy snacks, Pedersen said. "This is hardly a new issue, but the timing seems right because of recent national studies," he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 13 percent of children aged 6 to 11 are overweight and 14 percent of those 12 to 19 years old are overweight.

"I'm hearing a lot from parents expressing concern over what options their kids are being given at school," board member Lisa Stuckey said.

Health Coordinator Susan Spalt said, "Many of us are concerned about the kinds of stuff being offered at the cafeterias."

Spalt said the unhealthy snacks combined with a lack of physical activities result in overweight students.

"I would like to see a situation where we don't sell any unhealthy snack foods in our cafeterias," she said. There have been cuts in "a la carte" snacks, but there have been no drastic cuts because of budget concerns, she said.

School system Director of Child Nutrition Mark Rusin said the system must find a way to cut the unhealthy snacks. "We have to present some healthy alternatives to the cafeteria advisory committee," Rusin said.

The system has begun to sell fresh fruit and milk as "a la carte" snacks, Rusin said. The school system also has been working to reduce the fat content in its lunches over the past six years, he said.

"In the area of school lunch nutrition, we are far ahead of the state," Rusin said. The system was the first in the state to stop using the model of the four food groups to judge school lunch nutrition and instead judge nutrition by fat content, he said.

North Carolina is "trying to make sure that foods fit within the daily recommended nutritional values for kids," said N.C. Physical Activities Specialist Jimmy Newkirk.

In September, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Carmen Hooker Odom introduced a "blueprint" for the state to encourage healthy lifestyles for children.

The Eat Smart, Move More ... North Carolina initiative involves a set of guidelines for local school systems to promote healthier eating and increased physical activities, Newkirk said.

Newkirk is working with a nutrition expert and local school districts on the initiative.

Newkirk said one of the dominant trends spurring the initiative is the increasing prevalence of preventable diseases related to being overweight such as strokes, cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer.

Because physical activity requirements are controlled by local districts, Newkirk said, "The initiative has involved more local emphasis on increasing (physical activity) requirements."

"We certainly don't have enough daily physical education for all our students," Spalt said of the school system.

Spalt said the system and its Health Advisory Committee are looking to the state guidelines set forth in the Eat Smart, Move More initiative as they evaluate the nutritional value of cafeteria foods and the system's physical education requirements.

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.