Junk Food in Schools Statistics
Research has been performed to the relation of junk food in schools and childhood obesity. While no exact statistics have been proven, a relational link has been made between the ease of availability in junk food to students and the link to children gaining weight. The following statistics related to children obesity and junk food in schools.
Childhood Obesity
1. Obesity affects 17% of children in the United States and teens between the ages of 2 and 19.
2. The Child Nutrition Act supplies breakfast and lunch to over 31 million students nation wide for $12 billion annually.
3. The average calorie intake for an elementary student during lunch is 821 calories.
4. Children who consume school lunches are 2% more likely to be obese than those that don’t.
5. Over 9 million children between the ages 6-19 are overweight. This has tripled since 1980.
6. Children born in the United States have a 30% chance if male and 40% chance if female of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at some point in their life.
7. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 3-45% of all new pediatric cases.
8. 70% of obese adolescents retain their weight during their adulthood.
9. Between 2003 and 2005, approximately 200 pieces of legislation were introduced in US state legislatures to establish nutritional standards in schools or to address the availability or quality of competitive foods.
10. 61% of the children had junk food availability in school.
Curing Childhood Obesity
The following video is a Larry King interview performed with Bill Cosby discussing his new book targeting the use of junk food as a main contributing factor to childhood obesity. Healthy eating habits is what must be encouraged to decrease the potential future illness of America’s youth.
Health Effects
1. 70% of obese children suffer at least one risk factor related to cardiovascular disease.
2. Increased risks of high blood glucose levels indicating a potential for development of diabetes.
3. Increase risks for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, low self esteem, and social problems.
Brown Bags versus School Food
The below infographic compares the nutritional effects related to school lunches versus bagging your own. Statistics show that lunches packed from home can actually contain less nutritional items than schools that must adhere to a standard.
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