Who's stopping you: Children's health comes first when fixing school lunches

In May, the Trump administration rolled back reforms implemented by President Barack Obama to the National School Lunch Program, which feeds over 1.3 million kids throughout New York state. This move undermines the health of New York's youth, particularly those from impoverished families that depend on schools to provide nutritious meals to their children.

Specifically, the Trump administration eased requirements for using whole grains, as well as maximum sodium content in school lunches. Flavored milk options, which contain sugar and other additives, are now allowed again. The administration also eased requirements for reporting school meal nutrition information to parents. While these changes may seem modest, I need to explain them within the context of what I see in my pediatrics practice every day at The Nest, a community health center run by Harlem United in New York City.

There is a pediatric obesity epidemic in New York state. Obesity among children and adolescents has tripled over the past three decades, and currently, one-third of New York's children are obese or overweight. As a result, unprecedented numbers are afflicted with health conditions that traditionally only affected adults, including hypertension, diabetes, elevated blood pressure, and high cholesterol. These related ailments not only pose major challenges to children's health, but also can shorten their lifespan. It is no wonder that childhood obesity is now the No. 1 health concern among parents, beyond smoking and drug use.

While it is true that poor dietary choices and a sedentary lifestyle can increase the likelihood of childhood obesity, there is more added sugar and salt in the American diet than there has ever been. The current recommended daily allowance of sugar for children ages two to 18 is less than six grams. Yet, on average American children consume more than three times that amount.

Sugar-sweetened beverages like soda, juice, energy drinks and flavored milks contribute to the greatest share of these empty, dangerous calories. Additionally, 90 percent of children eat more than the recommended daily allowance of salt, which contributes to nearly one-sixth of children nationwide having elevated blood pressure.

Sonny Perdue, the newly-minted U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, argues that relaxed and local control of food standards will improve palatability and the likelihood that students will eat their lunch instead of throwing it away. But as a pediatrician, I know that food can both be healthy and taste good, too.

Children must be taught and encouraged to eat healthfully. It is certainly true that healthy behaviors start at home, but school meals have a big role to play in mitigating New York's childhood obesity epidemic and in countering the slick and savvy packaged food industry marketing directly targeted at children.

Laws and regulations that ensure our children eat nutritious, tasty school lunches need to be strengthened, not rolled back for the benefit of the packaged food industry at the cost of our children's health.