HCS 465

December 13, 2011

Author Ann Cooper wrote an article that states problems that arises in today’s America. Americans suffer with childhood obesity that connects to the way schools serves lunch. The (CDC) Center for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that if control childhood obesity is not under control by 2018, 40% of the children in America will be obese. According to Ann Cooper, the most noticeable cause for childhood obesity is today’s children, is the way that children eat at school. The schools supply the children with food served in bulks and are less expensive, instead of supplying them with nutritional meals.

In order for schools in America to help with weight issues of school age children they must be will to replace the food with healthy alternatives. The foods served at private and public schools are processed foods and are highly unhealthy for children. Children need foods garden grown and will be fresh when children go to receive their lunch. Ann Cooper found in her research, if schools don’t change their system children would not receive nutritional foods that will help aid in loosing weight and giving them a energy. The ramifications of not making these changes would be harmful to today’s young children, whereas it could be prevented if schools would provide healthier lunches during school hours.

The reason for this study is to help inspire families, members of the church, communities, and school officials to advocate change in the different types of foods that children will receive while in school. Through giving the proper education to school officials and parents the comprehensive changes in the consumption of food will occur. Children are the most important part of today’s population and mostly affected by food that lacks nutrition and are processed by companies. It will later affect children’s physical development and brain function that may create more health issues. When foods are fed to children it makes the body have a hard time processing the food, which leads to obesity in children.

“Why start healthy habits with children?” is the main research question used today. Researchers believe that if schools start children at a young age that the benefits of eating healthy will help stop the risk of a child growing up with obesity. Using the authors hypothesis children’s decisions based on the way food tastes, attitudes, and eating habits. The eating habits of children grow up with children as they grow into adulthood, so if they can improve the way children look at food it will help them become healthier and thinner.

In this research the design study was qualitative. According to Cooper, 2011 “The qualitative research design is a research method used extensively by scientists and researchers studying human behavior and habits.” The research study shows that the focus was used on assessing the information on childhood obesity and the different types of foods that provides school age children. It researches the health issues suffered by overweight children and the future of unhealthy eating results. The study used to answer questions about the different types of food that were processed and distributed to school aged children. The food given during lunchtime showed what steps taken to change unhealthy food to healthy foods.

Independent variable is the variable that cannot be changed or stands alone. The dependent variable does not rely on other factors and does not stand-alone. The dependent variable shows measurement and the independent variable shoes manipulation. During this