When I was in 12th grade IB biology, we took a field-trip to see an open-heart surgery at INOVA Fairfax Hospital. I remember vividly one of the props in the viewing area: It was a collection of transparent containers that were filled to different heights corresponding with the fat content in various foods like a slice of pizza or a bowl of ice cream. To this day, whenever I see pizza or ice cream, I think of that prop and the associated fat contents. But I didn't see that prop until I was 18-years-old. Most students will never see it.
Yes, Fairfax County’s high-fructose cafeteria options are a big problem, but so is our county’s nutrition education. Our cafeteria problem doesn't just involve merely serving the right food; it involves convincing our children to eat it. We need to ensure that, in addition to giving students healthier food options, they understand the importance of eating healthily at a younger age. Parents and teachers can tell children to drink milk and eat fruits and vegetables, but until those children see the consequences of not eating healthily—whether by showing them INOVA-esque “vats of fat” or documentaries like Food, Inc.—they will never change their habits.
The anti-smoking campaign in our schools has greatly reduced smoking rates because it vividly outlines the consequences of smoking with enlarged pictures of desiccated lungs. We must use similarly vivid methods to explain the consequences of a diet filled with high-fructose corn syrup, sugars and fats. As my INOVA experience illustrates, it is useful to incorporate nutrition education into the hard science curriculum, not merely teach it in health and P.E. classes.
Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign is a great start. The campaign teaches students the importance of adopting a lifestyle that incorporates both healthy eating and exercise. However, “Let’s Move” still lacks that ever-important vivid presentation of the consequences of unhealthy lifestyles. And it also fails to account for children that face eating disorders.
Can we blame those one-pint cartons of chocolate milk for unhealthy student choices? Yes. But we can also blame a deficient nutrition component of our county’s curriculum. Fairfax must take the lead in developing a strong nutrition curriculum that can become a model for the nation.