Stephanie Richards
Mr. Koski
English 102
31 January 2014 Fast Food Available in Schools

School lunch is very important to our children. One out of every five children will go to bed hungry, and for many children school lunch is the only meal that child will have. School lunches are usually filled with the nutrients that one most obtain to have a healthy way of living. Schools providing lunch also encourage children to go to school and with the lunch being nutritious the children become more energized and eager to learn. Fast food companies are always trying to make their sales boom, with this being said they are resorting to put fast food restaurants in schools. Fast food restaurants should not be allowed in schools, it is outrageous! The wellbeing of a child should be society’s top priority. An average of 1,400 calories a day is required to contain a healthy weight, one kid’s meal at McDonalds contains 600 calories. Fast food contains a massive amount of saturated fat, which is extremely bad for one’s health. Eating too much saturated fat can increase cholesterol levels in the blood. Elevated cholesterol levels can cause heart attack, stroke, and vascular diseases to the children in the future. Fast food contains an excessive amount of sodium. Sodium plays very important roles in our bodies. We need to consume a certain amount of sodium daily. However, taking in too much sodium is very harmful to our bodies. Excessive amount of sodium can cause high blood pressure, obesity, and osteoporosis. An average child needs to consume 800 mg of sodium a day. A happy meal contains 1,200 mg of sodium. To think that adults would risk the health of children just to make a buck is overwhelming. Fast food makes people lazy. When digesting food a great blood supply is require for our stomach and intestines, which means less blood supply somewhere else. Our body is working overtime to digest food. Fast food requires more