District 34 Addresses Obesity

When Glenview resident Mike Vilches was in school, his only lunch options were cheeseburgers, pizza, fries and other unhealthy foods.  Nearly 30 years later, his son, Mike Jr., has an entirely different meal on his lunch plate at District 34's Pleasant Ridge School. 

"He likes to have a bagel, yogurt and an apple," Vilches said.

On any given day, the fifth-grader can choose from a variety of healthy fruits, vegetables, whole grain bread products and lean meats.    

Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The prevalence of obesity among children ages 6-11 increased from 6.5 percent in 1980 to 19.6 percent in 2008.

As the childhood obesity epidemic continues to increase across the nation, District 34 administrators and teachers are arming their students with the necessary knowledge and tools to put a stop to the growing health problem. For several years the District has made serving healthy options a prioity and this year they're amping up efforts and bringing in more organic options for students.

"We can't force them to do or eat anything," Principal Matthew Rich said. "But we can help them make good choices."

The school system's approach not only provides students with nutritious food but it helps to develop the social skills they'll need to make healthy choices in the future, he explained. 

Besides bagel and yogurt lunches, students can choose from nutritious hot meals and assorted sandwiches, such as peanut butter and jelly on uncrustable bread. Each of the eight schools also offers a fruit and vegetable bar.    

District 34 tries to provide as many healthy options as possible, said Kimberly Radzinski, food services director. The hard challenge is pleasing a clientele of children, she added.

"You need to provide food that is nutritionally sound, that they're going to eat," Radzinski said. 

So instead of taking students' favorite meals off the menu, District 34 has just made them healthier. Pizza is still on the menu; it just comes in a healthier form, made with whole grain crust and low fat mozzarella cheese. 

And it's clear schools aren't the only ones that need to be sending the right nutritional messages to children.  Vilches said there are many other factors that influence a student's food choices, including media and even television commercials.

"We have x percent of commercials, we get drawn to those things," Vilches said. "Obesity is a problem for Americans in general."

In addition to the healthier food campaign, district teachers are providing nutritional knowledge in physical education classes. The students also read labels and compare fast food against the school's menus.

For the past three years, Radzinski has shown Supersize Me to sixth-graders and used it as a springboard to discuss nutrition. She said she has found the movie, which explores the risk of a fast-food diet, to be the perfect vehicle to grab students' attention. 

School officials and parents agree the nutritional messages being taught must be reinforced at home.

"It must be a collaborative effort," Radzinski said.  "We're doing our best to provide the best and hope they get the best at home." 

Vilches said he and his son do discuss the nutritional lessons taught in school, as most parents seem happy with what their children are learning about eating right. 

 "He's talked about the food pyramid, healthy eating, eating less junk food," Vilches said. "I try and involve him in cooking and making healthy food.

"They're doing an exceptional job," Vilches said about the district's efforts. "Thirty years ago when I was going to school, we weren't even thinking of the [nutritional] stuff."