Junk Food Should Be Banned From Elementary, Middle, and High Schools

Next, I would like to say that I throughly agree with Con's forfeiting rule, and I can assure him that there will be no forfeiting by me in this debate. After agreeing with my rules, Con went on to ask some questions about the topic. They are good questions, for they will make certain that both Con and I are talking about the same thing. I will now take the time to answer the questions: 1. In Con's first question, he asked what schools this applies to. As stated in the titles of this debate, "Junk Food Should Be Banned From Elementary, Middle, and High Schools," this topic is talking about public and private elementary, middle and high schools, ages 4/5 - 18. It does not include colleges. 2. Next, Con asked where the junk food in this situation would be coming from. He wants to know whether it is being served or being brought. To clarify, it is specifically being served by the cafeteria itself. It is not in any sense talking about the food the students bring. 3. Then, Con wanted to know whether this ban would be country wide, state wide, or district wide. In my opinion, it should be country wide, so that is what this debate will be discussing. 4. Finally, Con asked me to define the junk food that would be being banned. Allow me to clarify: This will apply to both foods and drinks. The foods will be food that is deep fried, contains an excessive amount of salt, fat, and grease, prepackaged food with a plethora of preservatives, and food without a healthy balance of nutrition necessities. Furthermore, the drinks would include drinks with excessive sugar and salt. There should be no sodas or energy drinks. If you have any more questions about this particular topic, please ask it in the comment section. Now that Con's questions have been cleared up, I will continue on with my arguments. Arguments Obesity According to nationmaster. com, the United States has the highest obesity percentage, closely followed by Mexico, the UK, and Slovakia. Furthermore, according to dailymail. co. uk, "[p]arents could soon begin to outlive their children because of an epidemic of obesity afflicting the younger generation. " Then, the site said "[t]he impending health disaster is blamed on the rise of aggressively-marketed, fat-laden fast food and couch potato lifestyles. " Correlation between school lunches and obesity Now that I have established the problem with obesity, I will start to talk about the link between school lunches and obesity. healthfinder. gov stated that "[s]tudents who participate in the school lunch program tend to be more obese in general, not because of the program itself but because they usually come from lower-income households where obesity is more of a problem. " Choices Because I have debated whiteflame before, I have come to the conclusion that he will ask the question of "Shouldn't the students be able to choose? " My answer to that is this: Students have already been given the choice. They have already been given the choice between eating a salad or eating a greasy pizza. When allowed to choose, the students choose the unhealthy choice. Therefore, they must be taught. Now, would serving healthier food lead to better eating choices? Yes. A study showed "that students consuming healthier meals were not more likely to seek other sources (such as vending machines or fast-food establishments) for less nutritional sweet or salty foods and/or sugary drinks. " Getting people used to good, healthy food will cause them to choose it over the unhealthy choices. Why should we care? The study that showed that children are now more likely to have a shorter lifespan than their parents can have a huge economic problem. When more people suffer from heart attacks, high blood pressure, and diabetes, the government will have to pay for more health care. Furthermore, when more people die, there are less taxes paid and less jobs created. Though this is a small percentage, it can be a large problem in the long run. Conclusion As is appears that I have stated all the necessary facts as to why junk food should not be served in school cafeterias, it is time for Con to lay out his evidence for why he believes it should not be banned. MLA Citations "Statistics for Health Obesity. " NationMaster. com. NationMaster, n. d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. <. http://www.nationmaster.com...;. "Parents May Soon Outlive Obese Children. " Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 10 Sept. 2002. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. <. http://www.dailymail.co.uk...;. "Better School Lunches May Lead to Slimmer Students. " Your Source for Reliable Health Information. N. p. , n. d. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. <. http://healthfinder.gov...;.