Double Cheeseburger, Hold the Lettuce
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May 17, 2011
Kallie Felkey, J1 Corespondent
Teens can potentially harm themselves by eating one unhealthy snack too many. Students with the access to off campus lunches are turning to the quick and cheap fast foods rather than a healthy lunch.
“Choices are limited during a lunch period. Students have a limited amount of time to grab a lunch,” Eric Neislanik the Health teacher at Glenwood Springs High School said. With about a 40 minute lunch, students have to eat fast and the food that comes in mind for that is “fast food”. Sometimes students don’t know what healthy foods to buy. “I would suggest packing some fruit or a sandwich on whole grain bread,” Jeanne Luetke, a Nutritionist in Glenwood Springs said.
“Students aren’t eating enough fruits and vegetable,” Neislanik said. Students at GSHS are surrounded by the appeal of unhealthy food everywhere. At school it’s the school store, “Time out” which sells sugary sweets like chips and candy. Around the GSHS campus, there is a pizza store within walking distance and a grocery store with isles of cheap snacks and sugary drinks that many students buy
. “I eat out somewhere different every day and usually spend around $20 a day,” Karyme Meixueiro said. “In the long run, it is cheaper to eat healthy than to go out and buy something and unhealthy,” Lutke said. Eating unhealthy can lead to diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure that cost more money as you get older and can potentially be deadly.
“It’s the repercussions of unhealthy foods that make eating healthy so important for teens,” Luetke said. Students who eat unhealthy can receive chronic diseases like cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes. About 3,700 Americans under the age of 20 receive a diagnosis for diabetes, according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention. “I am convinced that the raise in diabetes among teens is because of the fast food meals they eat,” Luetke said.
Nuts, trail mix, fruit and vegetables are all easy and cheap ways to make lunch a little healthier every day and live a healthier lifestyle.
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