Health in education

Many schools are becoming very lax when it comes to the food they serve in canteens. I've observed at Averroes College and been to OMEC and saw that a lot of the food they have was purely composed of simple carbohydrates, trans fats, and foods with high sodium contents. Without delving deeply into nutrition, these children are paying a hefty price for the cheap rubbish they're putting in their stomachs that can likely lead to many diseases and a poorer quality of life. Breathlessness when climbing the stairs is not uncommon in adult teachers who are lacking in energy, but in children and teenagers it is very ominous. The United Kingdom has started imposing a sugar tax on soft drinks and, while it's rather early to see the aftermath properly, I expect it to be a boon for a population that's slowly getting heavier and more unhealthy and this is something I would like to see in schools as well. Simple sugars are everywhere and controlling their intake of one of the most useless and unnecessary ingredients via raising their prices is one way to deter parents from giving lunch money to their kids. They still need to eat though, right? Well, there are plenty of ways to make cheap, nutritious, and delicious snacks for school goers. My old school used to have a special thing every day, so on some days they'd have a tuna sandwich which is excellent, caloric, and full of vitamins. Over-consumption, however, led to a fear of mercury poisoning, so on other days we'd have a chicken salad. This one was rather suspect since the food didn't seem too fresh, but it is yet another way green veggies are incorporated into a diet along with protein. Also, not all bars are created equal. There are many healthy ways to get carbohydrates. because they are an essential macro-nutrient, but is absorbed much more safely if accompanied by fibers. Oat bars and rice crackers are great ways to get that carb fix.

All in all, a balanced diet is one that schools need to start working on rather than having a heavy focus on toxic junk, but diet is not the only thing that contributes to a healthy lifestyle. Physical Education as of late has become a football or basketball session with very little structure and no education to be done, physical or otherwise. The thing schools need to do more of is showing how necessary exercise is for many aspects of our lives, from something as simple as climbing stairs to becoming an Olympian. The students will absolutely hate it, speaking from personal experience in my own school, but if they want to play football or basketball then the lesson should not be called Physical Education. It's unfortunate because there is so much to learn in this field and, with the right teacher, can be entertaining for the students as well.