How much responsibility do schools bear for addressing the obesity of their students? (continued)

A Parental Complaint

But such sentiment isn’t easily swallowed everywhere or by everyone. One of the chief objections to restrictions or outright bans of non-nutritious foods at school is the matter of choice. Witness what happened in 2004-05 in the Millburn Township School District in Essex County, N.J.

Meme Roth, the mother of two young children, became increasingly alarmed at how much cake, cookies and candy her kindergarten-age son was eating at school and the booty from classroom parties and celebrations he was bringing home. Roth, who says her family has long battled weight and health problems, also objected to the food options in the school district’s elementary lunch program, which is run by the volunteer Parent-Teacher Organization.

Because the affluent district does not participate in the federal lunch program, none of the Millburn PTOs are obliged to meet government nutritional requirements when developing their schools’ menu.

“So a typical lunch (at her son’s school) would be a white bagel with cream cheese or butter, a side of Pringles, maybe some watermelon and some Smarties,” Roth said. The lunches are very popular and are among the school’s most effective means of raising funds.

Eventually, Roth got approval to organize an alternative lunch program that featured whole grains, organic meats, fresh fruits and vegetables. The four-week pilot proved to be a hit with children, she contends, even though the lunches were more expensive. But when she lobbied the school to junk the PTO lunch program in favor of healthier fare, she says she hit a wall.

Support from other parents was lukewarm at best. “A teacher I talked to said there was nothing she could do, that she was ‘just a teacher.’ The principal said it wasn’t his responsibility. The head of the PTO said what was being served ‘wasn’t heroin.’ Nobody thought it was an issue,” Roth says.

Richard Brodow, superintendent of the 4,000-student Millburn district, sees things somewhat differently.

“We certainly support good nutrition. Just two years ago, we removed from the middle school a number of sweets and candies that kids could purchase. And there was a loss of income,” Brodow says.

“But the question here is really whether the district should dictate to parents who volunteer what they should and shouldn’t be serving their children, whether the district should ban things like cupcake celebrations.

“I believe in moderation.,” Brodow explains. “I don’t want to order bans, decree that at no time can a parent bring in cupcakes for a class. That seems very harsh. But we also don’t want a situation where kids are bombarded with snacks during the day. That’s unhealthy and that’s not what school is all about. What we need is simple common sense.”

Exactly, says Marshall Manson, vice president of public affairs for the Center for Individual Freedom, an Alexandria, Va.-based advocacy group.

“It’s not unreasonable to say that local schools and local districts ought to be able to do what they want without oversight from the state or federal food police. Everybody wants children to eat healthy,” Manson says. “But the correct solution involves balance. You don’t want every vending machine on campus to sell only Cokes or only carrots. People who espouse limiting choice because kids might make the wrong choice are supporting a point of view that can only lead to other limits on freedom down the road.”

Freedom of choice was the reason Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell recently vetoed a state bill that would have restricted the sale of some snack foods and beverages in all public schools while requiring a minimum of 100 minutes a week of recess for younger students. Rell, a Republican, said the bill usurped the longstanding authority of local districts to decide such issues for themselves. Critics said her veto was a blow to children and a nod to the powerful snack food lobby.

Societal Impact

In the end, it seems, the question of how much responsibility public school leaders shoulder for the health and well-being of students ultimately depends upon the individual administrator.

If he or she decides to act, there can be no half-measures, says Mary Ann Lopez, food service director for the 5,500-student South Windsor, Conn., district.

“Schools that try to do both, offering good foods and bad, aren’t going to succeed,” Lopez says. “Kids will always buy the bad. It’s all or nothing. You just have to know going in that you’re going to take a hit at first. Kids need time to adjust to new menus that don’t have the usual unhealthy foods. But they all learn.”

Taras at UCSD goes further, saying good school leaders do as much as they can, not just because it’s educationally or economically the right thing to do, but because lives hang in the balance.

A recent study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, said childhood obesity threatens to create the first American generation of kids whose average life span will be shorter than that of their parents.

“As a society,” Taras says, “we have to ask ourselves what it is we want for our youth. Do we want kids who are literate and math-ready, but who are significantly more likely than necessary to drop dead at a young age from medical ramifications of a poor lifestyle?

“If this is not what we want in our society, then the mandated core curriculum as it is currently written (for literacy, math and science) is deficient. It should also include outcomes that will help us produce productive citizens who will live long enough to demonstrate their full productivity.”

Scott LaFee is a science and health reporter with the Union-Tribune in San Diego. E-mail: scott.lafee@uniontrib.com