Competitive Foods
Foods that are not sold to students under the USDA approved breakfast and lunchtime selections are commonly referred to as Competitive Foods. They include foods from vending
machines, in classroom snacks, candy used as rewards, snack cart or a la carte
items, and food sold in a school store. There is food everywhere in school
buildings, but what effects does this have on student’s diets? Should
competitive foods even be available to students?
Studies have shown that competitive foods can be detrimental to students’ health when eaten regularly (Kakarala, 2010). Because these foods are not USDA provided, they do not have to follow the same guidelines that the school breakfasts and lunches do. This means that these competitive foods can be just about anything. In fact, competitive foods tend to have no nutrition at all. They are fatty, high in carbohydrates, high in sugars, and low in protein. The reason competitive foods are available to students is because these are the types of food that taste good and, when eaten often, humans start to crave. They have flashy packages and addictive qualities. This all leads to more students buying these products and providing them to the students may be an easy way for the school to earn a little more cash. Some of the most debated topics around competitive foods involve snacking in elementary schools and vending machines.
This video of a newscast from Nevada explains the effects of competitive foods:
Studies have shown that competitive foods can be detrimental to students’ health when eaten regularly (Kakarala, 2010). Because these foods are not USDA provided, they do not have to follow the same guidelines that the school breakfasts and lunches do. This means that these competitive foods can be just about anything. In fact, competitive foods tend to have no nutrition at all. They are fatty, high in carbohydrates, high in sugars, and low in protein. The reason competitive foods are available to students is because these are the types of food that taste good and, when eaten often, humans start to crave. They have flashy packages and addictive qualities. This all leads to more students buying these products and providing them to the students may be an easy way for the school to earn a little more cash. Some of the most debated topics around competitive foods involve snacking in elementary schools and vending machines.
This video of a newscast from Nevada explains the effects of competitive foods:
What we see is that states with stronger regulations of competitive foods tend to have students with less weight gain and less obesity. The schools with more access to competitive foods have a higher rate of childhood obesity.
Click the links below to learn more about snacks, vending machines, and how to regulate competitive foods.
Click the links below to learn more about snacks, vending machines, and how to regulate competitive foods.