I remember the first time I walked into an American middle school cafeteria. All I saw were unlimited hot cookies, giant baskets of fries, huge burgers, and every fatty substance in between. Living in England, my private school only provided these treats on “Fatty Fridays,” and even then the portions were about a third of the size.
As I made the transition to high school, the only “healthy” food options were a couple of salads or pieces of fruit. The terrifying part about all of this is that I became accustomed to this lifestyle, and so have many adolescents in the United States. I witnessed friends of mine eat fried food every day of the week. I thought it was OK for me to consume thousands of fat calories that damaged my body when I should’ve been packing a healthier lunch during those four years.
I recall my health class glossed over nutrition with phrases like “eat healthily,” or “make smart choices.” They do not teach in-depth what actually is considered nutritious/healthy for us or the recommended amount we should be consuming daily. A nutritious diet is just as and maybe even more important than exercise. This is not emphasized enough in the public education system. If I had known some of the facts of the food I ate every single day, I would have thought twice about my daily 800-calorie muffin.
We need to learn about mental health and the ways of coping with stress. But I wish the one-hour weekday class I sat through for weeks on end would've prepared me to pick up more than just an apple a day to keep the doctor away.
Let’s say you're a junior in high school trying to maintain/lose weight. I am sure most students would think going to the gym six days a week and not starving themselves could solve every issue. However, did that required freshman class tell you that in order to do this, the right diet is more important than exercise? I only recently learned about this and it completely changed my lifestyle.
My mum, who does Crossfit, and my best friend in England have shown me the importance of knowing what you should put in your body. From just eating vegetables at every meal to cutting down on my dairy intake has pointed me in the right direction. I wish these were just some of the facts that teenagers were educated on.
I am not wanting schools to tell students to track their daily calorie intake, never eat a piece of pie again, or starve if there is nothing healthy available. I am more along the lines of wanting experts to explain that what you eat now WILL affect you later in life. Genetically modified food does not need to be labeled in the USA; you NEED to care about how you fuel yourself.
I encourage you to look at what you’re putting into your body. Teach and discuss with the people in your life about what they need to be eating in order to maintain a healthy BMI (Body Mass Index) and lifestyle. A lot of people I have discussed this with tell me, "eat whatever you want! You’re young, you should enjoy food!” but personally, I would rather live a long and healthy life than eat a Costco muffin every day. Until this topic is taught more in the public education system, I hope you research nutrition thoroughly and how the items you consume today can affect you later in life.
