Battling Obesity

Mar 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Mike Kennedy

The business and facilities implications--and what schools can do.

At the Gates Chili High School near Rochester, N.Y., the cafeteria and kitchen are getting an overdue overhaul. Debbi Beauvais, the district's food-service supervisor, was reviewing the design plans for the renovation when the architect pointed out where he planned to put the deep fryers.

Those last two words hung uncomfortably in the air for a few seconds. “Uh, excuse me,” Beauvais sighed, “We'll be taking those out.”

Deep fryers and the fat-soaked foods that come dripping out of them are no longer welcome in the kitchens and dining halls of a growing number of the nation's schools and universities. Likewise, heavily marketed sugary soft drinks and fat-laden candy treats are vanishing from school vending machines.

From California to New York, education institutions are enlisting in a war against obesity. The battle plan calls for schools to teach students how to choose more nutritional foods, and for food-service workers to practice in the lunchroom what instructors are preaching in the classroom. That means menus that offer more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, entrees that are baked instead of fried, and juice and fat-free milk instead of the empty calories of soft drinks.

It also means making cafeterias and dining halls appealing spaces where students can get the food they want quickly and still have time to hobnob with their friends.

“When you go someplace to eat, if you like the ambience and you get good customer service, you're going to come back,” says Linda Hayes, director of nutrition services for the Moreno Valley (Calif.) Unified School District.

A big issue

Put simply, the problem is this: America has a weight problem. We eat too much, we eat the wrong things, and we don't exercise enough to burn off those excess calories. Americans are fatter now than they were 25 years ago. The 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that 65 percent of U.S. adults were overweight or obese, compared with 47 percent in the 1976-1980 survey. The percentage of obese adults has risen from 15 percent in 1976-1980 to 31 percent in 1999-2002.

Obesity is a societal problem too vast for schools and universities to defeat on their own — most education institutions aren't in a position to influence the long-established dietary habits of overweight adults. But the alarming health statistics are not confined to adults. The same health survey found that 16 percent of young people aged 6 to 19 were considered overweight. In the 1976-1980 survey, only 7 percent of those aged 6 to 11, and 5 percent of those 12 to 19 were considered overweight.

What young people eat during the day is an issue that the nation's schools are well-positioned to tackle. From snacks and lunches in preschools to multi-course meals in college campus dining halls, education institutions typically have a dozen or more years during which they can provide healthful food to students and instill in each of them good nutritional habits.

The federal government gave a strong vote of support for the war on children's obesity in 2004 when Congress passed the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act. It requires that school districts create a wellness policy that addresses goals for nutrition education, goals for physical activity, nutrition guidelines for foods available at school, and assurances that school meal guidelines are not less restrictive than federal guidelines.

Improving the product

Schools and universities are being more vigilant about nutrition as they choose what to serve their students. A few years ago in the Gates Chili district, students were able to buy a six-pack of mini chocolate donuts in the lunchroom as a snack.

Beauvais has removed many unhealthful options like those. Students are more likely to see fresh fruit and vegetables, and whole-grain products. The cafeterias offer no whole milk, only skim or 1 percent; and the white rice has been replaced with brown rice. “The way we season it, the kids can't tell the difference,” says Beauvais.

In some cases, new equipment can help schools offer students better nutrition. At Gates Chili High School, the kitchen doesn't have the right ovens to make its own pizza, so it has a local pizzeria bring in its product. The kitchen renovations will include new ovens that will enable the school to prepare and cook its own pizza.

“We can control the ingredients and the toppings, and we can make sure it's healthy,” Beauvais says.

But even without new equipment or a redesigned kitchen, schools can improve the nutritional quality of their meals.

“You can make a tossed salad in any kitchen,” says Beauvais. “It's really a matter of creative menus.”

Conscientious campuses

Colleges and universities also are making efforts to make behind-the-scenes changes that result in more healthful dining. Earlier this year, the dining halls at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., decided to eliminate the use of oils with trans fats, which can negatively affect cholesterol levels.

For some students, choosing what they eat may involve more than personal tastes, nutritional issues or cost. For philosophical reasons, many may choose a vegetarian or vegan diet. Some who are concerned with preserving the environment and how food products are grown, harvested and brought to market may prefer to buy and consume organic items.

“Students have a far more heightened level of conscientiousness about health and social issues,” says Jodi Smith, marketing director for the National Association of College and University Food Services. “They are more aware of what they're putting into their bodies. They are interested in organics and sustainable practices.

Indiana University in Bloomington was chosen by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as the most vegetarian-friendly college with offerings such as sesame noodle and peapod casserole.

“We have a lot of salad bars, paninis, wraps and other health-conscious menu items,” says Sandra Fowler, director of residential dining services at Indiana University. “We meet regularly with students to discuss changes and additions.”

Cal Dining, the food-service operation at the University of California Berkeley, has responded to its students' desires by having its Crossroads dining commons become the first college food operation to be certified as “organic.”

“We thought the salad bar was a logical place to start,” says Chuck Davies, associate director of residential dining for Cal Dining. “There is a lot of produce in California, and the price is good.”

All fresh and canned agricultural products are provided by certified organic vendors. Organic products are labeled with stickers to ensure they are not inadvertently mixed with non-organic times. Cal Dining has expanded the availability of its organic salad bars to other dining venues.

“It was a response to student demand,” says Davies. “They are looking to be more socially responsible. We try to do as much local purchasing as possible, we buy fair-trade coffee, we're eliminating trans fats. The trend is not going away.”

At the same time, the student body at a college campus is a diverse group of people old enough to make their own decisions about what they want to eat and what is good for them.

“We're not the food police,” says Davies. “There are still a whole lot of students who want pizza and hamburgers.”

Fast and appealing

Clearly, offering more healthful food is the obvious first step that schools need to take as they strive to improve the diets of their students. But the next step in the process may be more daunting: getting students to eat what is being offered. To make this happen, administrators have to take into account a student's overall dining experience. That means a careful assessment of the kitchen and dining facilities and operations.

In an elementary or secondary school, is the lunch period at the right time of the day? Are there signs posted that help students navigate through the congestion of hungry classmates? Can students move through the lunch line quickly enough to have time to eat without feeling rushed? Are there alternative ways of buying a meal if lunch lines are too long? Can students get a meal without having to disclose whether they are receiving it free or at a reduced price? Are there enough seats for all the students assigned to the lunch period? Is the space designed and decorated to appeal to students? Is it a comfortable place for students to hang out and socialize?

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