Credit:Cuppycakefiend from flickr
Today marks the end of National School Breakfast Week ( March 5-March 9 2012).
At the beginning of the week, on March 5th, the agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack stated “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it helps keep kids alert and focused on learning. Thanks to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, we will be able to connect more eligible children with our school food programs and greatly improve the quality of meals served in schools.” Eating breakfast featuring processed, full of fat and sodium can be detrimental to children’s health and may lead to the risk of diabetes, cancer, heart disease later in life. Please check the list on the Five worst school breakfast.
To encourage the practice of healthy breakfast among children in schools, school breakfast program and campaign were implemented. School Breakfast – Go for Gold” was created by the non-profit School Nutrition Association with support from General Mills Foodservice.Go for Gold also aligns with USDA’s Healthier US School Challenge and the First Lady’s Let’s Move Goals.
However, school breakfast has come to be thought of in many places as a program for low-income children since majority of the children who take part in it received their meals at a reduce price or without paying anything. Well, in fact, studies have proven that breakfast is important for all children. Thus, regardless of their economic status, all children should participate in School Breakfast program. Having a healthy breakfast will not only be positive to the body but also to the children’s success at school. According to the center for disease control and prevention, eating a healthy breakfast is associated with improved cognitive function (especially memory), reduced absenteeism and improved mood.
However, despite the campaign and efforts to make school breakfast healthier, Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine nutrition experts reported that unhealthy breakfast items continue to be served in many districts in the country.
Please take a look at this video on Cohen congressman’s talk on national school breakfast week
Health in your meal 