This week in the news it was announced that the Trump Administration will remove regulations that had been put in place for children’s health by the Obama administration:
“On Friday, USDA Deputy Under Secretary Brandon Lipps proposed new rules for the Food and Nutrition Service that would allow schools to cut the amount of vegetables and fruits required at lunch and breakfasts while giving them license to sell more pizza, burgers and fries to students. The agency is responsible for administering nutritional programs that feed nearly 30 million students at 99,000 schools." (Washington Post Business, January 17, 2020)
This is the wrong direction to go if we really care about American’s health and wellness, not to mention improving our healthcare system. Americans as a rule eat too much sugar, processed foods, white flour, bad fats and chemicals, and this program was a great start to introducing children to good eating habits that could save them poor health in the long run.
More than 30 million Americans (about 1 in 10) have diabetes (Insulin Resistance), and 90% to 95% of them have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes most often develops in people over age 45, but more and more children, teens, and young adults are now developing it. (https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/type2.html) Type 2 diabetes is known to be preventable and even reversible through good diet and lifestyle choices, but not getting it in the first place is by far easier and better than having to deal with it and learning new dietary habits as you get older. Western medicine uses medication and an odd process of eating fake “sugar-free” foods to address it rather than teaching people how to eat real food to feel better and not introduce further complications through pharmaceuticals.
It is a matter of building healthy habits of education, diet, and activity, and 30 million children who have had access to nutrition education and real food won’t anymore, thus exposing them to poor habits and leading to poor health as they get older.
So I am actually curious. If our children aren’t important enough to feed and educate to prevent poor nutrition and health, why would we think this administration would put any effort into making healthcare available and affordable for everyone?
