Schools have become hazardous health zones full of empty calories, junk food and stripped-down physical education programs that are cultivating a nation of fatter, dumber and more aggressive kids. In the film, "The Social Network," Mark Zuckerberg tells his friend that there are more geniuses in China than there are people in the United States. The Cold War gave us the missile gap, but now we have something much more threatening to our future and our children's future -- the achievement gap.
When most school kitchens have only deep fryers, microwaves and displays for candy and junk food at the checkout counters, how can children stay healthy or learn? When the food served is as addictive as heroin or cocaine, who is accountable?
General Jack Keane, former Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, shared with me that 70 percent of applicants for the military are unfit to serve and can't pass standardized qualifying tests for military service. The school lunch program was started in 1946 because military recruits were too thin to serve in the military; now, in part because of our school lunch program, our children are too fat and academically challenged to serve.
Kids who skip breakfast and eat sugar laden, additive laced foods, and who get 10 to 15 percent of their calories from liquid sugar drinks like sodas and "sports" drinks not only gain weight and get early diabetes, heart disease and stroke in adolescence, but can't pay attention, are less alert, can't solve problems or do math, have a myriad of learning deficits, are more depressed, anxious and even violent. One in six children in America has a neurodevelopmental problem such as learning deficits and attention deficit disorder. Could it be due to what we are feeding our children and the lack of physical activity?
In his landmark paper, Healthier Students are Better Learners: A Missing Link in School Reforms to Close the Achievement Gap, Columbia professor, Charles Basch documents the self-evident premise that kids' brains don't work if they don't eat well and they don't move their bodies. When one in three kids skips breakfast and the rest have vending machine fare of chips and soda, sugary cereals or worse, how can they learn? When the average kid logs eight hours of screen time a day but only one in five kids meets the recommended levels of physical activity a day developing brains don't work. Professor Basch has recently met with Arnie Duncan, Secretary of Education, and recommended a series of policy changes that will lead to healthier and smarter kids.
Research shows that food additives contribute to attention deficit disorder that affects almost one in ten children with many more suffering a milder version.(i) A landmark new paper in the Lancet, found that delayed food sensitivities caused attention deficit disorder and removing food sensitivities could reverse attention deficit disorder in 75 precent of children.(ii) Aggression, violence and bullying on are on the rise in schools. In 2005 there were 628,000 violent crimes among students 12 to 18 years old. Twenty-eight percent of these kids reported being bullied in the previous six months, and 8 percent were threatened or injured with a weapon in the preceding 12 months. A prison study in England found that supplementing prisoners with multi-vitamin and fish oil could reduce violent crime in prisons by 37 percent.(iii)
So what can you do to help your child and what can we do as a nation to raise a smarter, fitter, happier generation of children? It is a two-part solution. We have to take back our homes and our schools, which have been hijacked by the food industry.
Take Back Your Homes
You have total control over what you bring into your home, and what you choose to do there. Small changes can have a big impact on your family's and your children's health and happiness. These changes also impact the food industry, agriculture and marketing practices.
• Eat at home. In 1900, two percent of meals were eaten outside the home. In 2010, 50 percent were eaten away from home. One in five eat breakfast from McDonald's. Family meals happen about three times a week, last less than 20 minutes, and are spent watching television or texting while each family member eats a different microwaved "food" made in a different factory. We complain of not having enough time to cook, but Americans spend more time watching cooking on The Food Network, than actually preparing their own meals.
• Eat a real breakfast. This is a critical life skill we must reclaim and teach our children. Kids (and adults) who eat breakfast are thinner and smarter. Think real, whole protein-rich food to power up the brain and metabolism for the day.
• Eat together. No matter how modest the meal, create a special place to sit down together, and set the table with care and respect. Family meals are a time for empathy and generosity, a time to nourish and communicate. Research shows that children who have regular meals with their parents do better in every way -- from better grades to healthier relationships to staying out of trouble, and are 42 percent less likely to drink, 50 percent less likely to smoke and 66 percent less likely to smoke pot. Regular family dinners protect girls from bulimia, anorexia and diet pills. Family dinners reduce the incidence of childhood obesity. In a study on household routines and obesity in American preschool-aged children, kids as young as four had a lower risk of obesity if they ate regular family dinners, had enough sleep and didn't watch TV on weekdays. Taking back our family dinners will help us learn how to find and prepare real food quickly and simply, teach our children how to connect, and build security, safety and social skills, meal after meal, day after day.
• Reclaim your kitchen. Throw out foods with high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated fats and sugars or fat as the first or second ingredient on the label. Fill your kitchen with real, fresh, whole, local foods whenever possible. Join a community-supported agricultural network to get a cheaper supply of fresh vegetables, or shop at nearby farmer's markets. Read the tips I have shared on how to eat well for less.
• Plant a garden. It's the tastiest, most nutritious, most environmentally friendly food you will ever eat. You can create a small garden in a box on your roof or porch if you have limited space.
• Conserve, compost and recycle. Bring your own shopping bags to the market and recycle your paper, cans, bottles and plastic. Start a compost bucket and use it in your garden or find out where in your community you can share this rich fertilizer.
• Give your children (and yourself) a multivitamin, fish oil and vitamin D every day. It will help to build better brains and better bodies.
Take Back Our Schools
• Help reinvent school lunch programs. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 removes junk food from schools by applying nutrition standards to all foods sold in schools (including vending machines in hallways), and supports access to fresh produce through farm-to-school networks, the creation of school gardens, and the use of local foods. It doesn't solve the void in education for self-care and nutrition, but it is a beginning. Watch the movies "Two Angry Moms" and "Lunch: What are Kids Munching On?" to learn how to take back the lunchroom.
• Support schools as safe zones, where there is access only to foods that promote health and optimal brain functioning.
• Support changes in zoning laws that prevent fast food and junk food outlets from operating next to schools.
• Build school gardens. Teach children about the origins of food and let them experience the sensory delight of real, garden-fresh fruits and vegetables. Jamie Oliver could not get one child in a classroom in West Virginia to identify one vegetable. That is national crisis.
• Support the integration of self-care and nutrition curriculum into schools. Work with your local or regional school boards to introduce programs like Mehmet Oz's HealthCorps into schools around the country.
• Bring back basic cooking skills to schools as part of a curriculum that includes essential life tools.
• Bring back mandatory physical education programs into schools. Physical activity has been shown to reduce depression and anxiety, improve cognitive performance and stimulate BDNF production (like miracle grow for brain cells) that increases the number and connections between brain cells.
Remember childhood obesity is not the only risk of poor diet. Kids with bigger bellies have smaller brains. The insults of poor diet and lack of activity have staggering implications for our children and their health and cognitive abilities. But we have the knowledge and capacity to take back our homes and our schools and create healthier, smarter, fitter children.
To learn more about how we can create a healthy food environment for our children, please visit www.drhyman.com.
Now I'd like to hear from you ...
What do you think of the nutrition crisis facing children today? Do you believe effects their ability to live and learn?
Do you view the school lunch program and nutrition education as a problem in this country? What are the problems and what could we do to change it?
What strategies have you implemented in your family to take back your home and take back our schools? How have they worked?
Please leave your thoughts by adding a comment below.
To your good health,
Mark Hyman, MD
References
(i) McCann, D., Barrett, A., Cooper, A., et al. 2007. Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 370(9598): 1560-7.
(ii) Pelsser, L.M., Frankena, K., Toorman, J., et al. 2011. Effects of a restricted elimination diet on the behaviour of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (INCA study): A randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 377(9764):494-503.
(iii) Gesch, C.B., Hammond, S.M., Hampson, S.E., et al. 2002. Influence of supplementary vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids on the antisocial behaviour of young adult prisoners. Randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Br J Psychiatry. 181: 22-8.
Mark Hyman, M.D. is a practicing physician, founder of The UltraWellness Center, a four-time New York Times bestselling author, and an international leader in the field of Functional Medicine. You can follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, watch his videos on YouTube, become a fan on Facebook, and subscribe to his newsletter.
Follow Mark Hyman, MD on Twitter: www.twitter.com/markhymanmd
David Gratzer: Canada's Biggest U.S. Import: Fat?
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for kids AND adults. Steer clear of sugary cereals, and baked goods like doughnuts, muffins, and bagels as these offer very little nutritional value and the high sugar content will do the exact opposite of what you are trying to accomplish.
Remember kids need a minimum of 7-9 fruit and veggie servings a day; try to get a couple in first thing so that they will have focus and energy all day long. Here are some quick and easy breakfast ideas:http://bit.ly/r2dzhd
After you have been away from the prepared food for a while, it doesn't taste so good anymore.
I want to scream at moms when I go to Costco. There is just woman after woman throwing crap in their carts. Frozen sandwiches, huge boxes of pre-packaged cookies and snacks, sweet rolls, sugared cereals, 10 pound bags of chips, frozen dinner entrees. The entire day's meals were made in a factory!! People have got to be taught about how dangerous the chemicals in those foods are!!
Believe me, I'm no super-mom. As a matter of fact, as someone who has been on bed-rest to recover from an injury, I'm anything but. However, all summer long, I cooked 3 meals a day for my twins (16). Somedays I would be so tired, tears would be running my cheeks as we stood in the kitchen slicing, dicing and preparing. Of course, I didn't have to go that far. They could have fended for themselves, and they did pitch in to help. I just pushed myself to get into the kitchen and cook because I want them to have the best possible nutrition.
Yes, giving up "convenience foods" means I have to cook more, but knowing that every bite my family just consumed is something we picked, milked, hunted or gathered is the best gift of all.
You wouldn't put unnecessary chemicals in your Porsche would you? Then why would you do it to your kids??
It should be noted that fish oil is not necessary for adequate intake of omega 3s. For those who prefer not to consume fish products for whatever reason, there are many algae-derived sources of DHA and EPA. (Fish get their omega 3s from algae.) This choice is better for the environment and possibly better for our health than consuming fish products. In addition, flax oil, walnuts, soy beans and canola oil contain ALA which is converted by the body to DHA.
I AM NOT thrilled with the amount of activity the kids are allowed to participate in. My 11 year old boy, in 6th grade, only gets 15 minutes to get out and play a day, and gym is only once every 6 days!! Boys need to move more than this!! It helps them learn if they can move a bit during the day and I'm shocked that schools are not following the literature on this. It's so simple!
My 7 year old has the same gym schedule but he gets an extra 10 minutes on top of the 15 in 1st grade.
We've become more active as a family and my children see their parents trying to eat right, feed them right, and exercise. Thanks for the article. It really helped!
Our public school has no french fries, deep fries nothing, local-sources fruits and vegetables as much as possible and is trying to phase our chocolate milk (because of the tons of sugar in there).
This is much the same with every public school in my area.
http://healthland.time.com/2011/06/23/study-the-best-and-worst-foods-for-weight-loss/
The Zone is 40% carbs, 30% each protein and fat. Carbs should be "low-glycine", not processed like fries or chips, or made from flour. If you follow the zone diet, you'll find it hard to be obese. The food is satisfying, and you don't get hungry between meals. That's a sign of carb addiction, and crashing, signs of high insulin.
A Missing Link in School Reforms to Close the Achievement Gap,
Columbia professor, Charles Basch documents the self-evident
premise that kids' brains don't work if they don't eat well and they
don't move their bodies."
Dr Mark Hyman (who actually is an MD) has nailed it.
Why does it seem so difficult to state the obvious.
It's been said b4 but Dr Hyman makes his points better than most.
Student health is important and diet is the most important contributer after family
and environment. (Eggs for breakfast EVERYDAY is also not the answer)
Hyman actually practiced in China for all you paranoid right wingers.
If you don't exercise much, you'll probably be OK. Vegans can't be world-class athletes, don't get enough protein to rebuild muscles damaged by normal exercise. I walk about 10 miles a day at age 61, couldn't be a vegan. (Note though that almost all my fat is from vegetables, I practically drink olive oil.)
But fish and chicken are healthier than red meat. If you eat those you won't be eating your fellow mammals. I have no problem with eating a fish, even cutting one up and eating it raw. Wouldn't do that with much else :-) I was a vegetarian when I was young, so was Bill Walton though he blames it for ruining his career. You may change your mind.
You have no idea about nutrition, as is evident by your lack of awareness that there are plenty of non-animal proteins available.
Ever hear of legumes, for example? Beans? Lentils?
There is plenty of protein out there besides soy, being vegan means being far more aware of food and nutrition than your average semi-conscious meat-eaters.
My mom works in an elementary school, and there are many children that come without lunch or even lunch money.
The problem stems from how so many people view food. Food has become a source of entertainment and emotional support. Few people look at food as a source of health or realize that healthy food can be delicious and it doesn't have to take very long to make or be expensive. Sadly, few people see the connection between food and health and poor quality food and disease.
I see it with adults, when they eat low quality foods, they do not have energy, their moods are unstable and they physically suffer, of course children are going to have the same issues if they are eating low quality foods.