What's for lunch? When it comes to school kids, that's a good
question. It's one that parents should be asking early and often,
according to the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and the Lindora
Medical Clinic in Newport Beach.
Some pronouncements from both those organizations this week caught
my eye and ear, which is just a figure of speech because I actually
have two of each. The quest for the perfect school lunch has gone on
since the beginning of school, or lunch, or both. Some things have
changed since I was a quiet, reclusive, painfully shy child in
elementary school ... grade school ... grammar school. Which is it? I
never know. But some things have not.
In those days, just after sinking of the Lusitania, it was the
"food pyramid" and the "four basic food groups" -- the meat group,
the fruit and vegetable group, the dairy group, and the grain group.
Many years later, the recommendations are similar, but with much more
emphasis on avoiding sugar and fat wherever possible.
It took a while, but someone finally discovered that overly round
little people usually grow up to be overly round big people, a
phenomenon to which I can attest. According to Shelly Lummus, a nurse
practitioner at Lindora Medical Clinic, the number of overweight kids
between the ages of 6 and 11 has doubled in the last two decades, and
tripled for teenagers.
Worse yet, overweight children have a much higher risk of
developing Type II diabetes as adults, and are doing just that at a
much higher rate than 20 years ago.
According to Richard Greene, director of food services for
Newport-Mesa Unified School District, the school lunch program is the
best bet for pint-sized scholars, since it's planned and supervised
by nutritional specialists. But if you prefer to pack it yourself,
both Lummus and Greene have suggestions for what goes in the little
brown bag.
Carbonated drinks are a cardinal sin, and fruit juice, which is
essentially sugar water and only about 5% real juice, is a close
second. Lose the fat and the salt wherever you can, which means a no-
vote on prepackaged lunchmeats like bologna. Why is it pronounced
"baloney," by the way? Try sliced turkey if your kids are carnivores.
Fruit? What more is there to say, other than you can never have
enough. And that goes double for kids. Like the Bible says -- "And
the fruit shall set you free." Whatever. According to Lummus, the
second biggest source of saturated fat for kids is cheese, so try
some low-fat or nonfat when they have to get cheesy. Go with whole
