Introduction
In the last thirty years, childhood obesity is a serious problem in the USA.
Overweight children are more likely to become obese when they are an adult. Obesity during childhood is associated with severe health problems like hypertension, atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, but also psychological effects like discrimination, depression, and emotional trauma,( Daniels SR et all,2005, Din-Dzietham R et all, 2007, Lorch SM et all, 2007).
Nowadays, 17% of all children (9-12 years) in de United States are obese. In a recent study (Ogden et al. 2014) they found that the last 30 years, the prevalence of obesity has doubled.
Obesity increased the most among Hispanics, low-income and black children. Research shows that multiple factors are involved, -personal like dietary and physical activity patterns, taste and physical activity preferences, – environmental like home, school, and community, – societal such as food advertising, social network, and peer influences, – healthcare-related like access and provider counseling and physiological e.g., intrauterine and early life “programming,” appetite and satiety mechanisms, and genetic predisposition. All of this may influence daily diet and physical activity as well as increase obesity, cardiovascular disease risk, and chronic diseases.
Prevention of obesity is needed. Health organizations, like the WHO and an Institute of Medicine experts, have recommended interventions to prevent obesity.
The main goal of most childhood obesity intervention programs is to prevent nonoverweight-normal children from becoming overweight or obese, and also help overweight or obese children to lose weight. Interventions to prevent obesity in children, largely aim to modify diet and physical activity. There are several kinds of interventions. Such as school-based intervention who are realised in primarily schools although parents are often participating. Home-based intervention, who took place in the child’s home to alter nutrition into healthy products and modify the family’s eating behavior. Community-based and environment interventions to accomplish increasing acces for physical activity and availibility of good nutrition in the neighbourhoods surrounding schools by improving the knowledge, self-efficacy, attitudes and behavior regarding physical activity and nutrition among teachers, parents and students.
Schools, where children socialize , are the ideal places for organizing obesity-prevention programmes. This is an advantage because programming directed at young children is possible. Children generally spend their time at school five days per week throughout most of the school year, and schools in the U.S. are located in communities of every socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic group. Schools have a great influence on the health of children, especially in low-income communities. Children receive a significant proportion of their daily nutrition requirements at school. The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day. All schools can participate and all children attending those schools can participate. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) makes it possible for all school children in the United States to receive a nutritious lunch every school day
In 2012 the U.S Department of Agriculture issued new standards for nutrition in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.(NLSP) This new rule requires most schools to; 1- increase the availibility of healthy foods like fruit, vegetables, whole grains and fat free or low-flatfluid milk. 2-reduce the levels of sodium, saturated fats and trans-fat in school breakfasts and lunch..
A recent study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) indicated that student participation in the NSLP dipped by 3.7% from 2010–2011 to 2012–2013 and concluded that decreased participation—which occurred mainly among full-price–paying students—may have been the result of increased meal prices and/or decreased student acceptance of the new lunches. Difficulties included challenges in planning new menus, increased costs resulting from more fruits and vegetables, and dealing with plate waste from food thrown away, rather than being consumed, by students. The purpose of this paper is to examine the success of the food intervention programmes and if improvement is necessary.