This is an interesting thought that serving water with school lunches to children will help in cutting down on childhood obesity.
Studies say that if students are encouraged to drink water with their lunch in school, then it can help in preventing more than half a million of adolescents from becoming overweight in America. Reduction in obesity means reduction in any medical conditions and its cost associated with it.
A study consisting of 1,200 elementary and middle schools was done, which showed that improving access to plain water at lunchtime by keeping water dispensers in cafeterias in school revealed a three-fold increase in consumption of plain water along with a mild decline in consumption of milk when compared to other schools where water was not so easily accessible. (1) The results are encouraging and show that this simple yet effective way of providing easy access to water for kids in school can quench their thirst for something liquid during their lunch time and also cut down on soda consumption, which is loaded with calories thus resulting in weight loss or prevention of unnecessary weight gain in children.
Simple Change, Yet Big Result(1, 2)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that there are about 13 million adolescents and children between the ages of 2 and 19 in America who are obese and about 36% of adults in USA are obese.
The annual medical cost caused by obesity was around $147 billion in 2008. Making the availability of water easier at school lunches is an effective and easy way to reduce obesity in America.
The study shows that making even small steps have significant benefit encouraging healthy body weight. Serving water with school lunches is a positive addition to other nutrition strategies which are being added by including salad bars and whole wheat. The habits developed in childhood carry forward into adult life and remain ingrained for the rest of the life. So, it is very important to develop healthy eating behaviors during childhood itself in order to prevent obesity and its associated conditions later on in life.
Quit or Discourage Sugar Consumption Early in Life(3, 4)
Children are so used to soda consumption that it is one of the primary contributions in increasing rates of obesity in America. There are more than 240 calories and about 15 to 18 teaspoons of sugar in a 20-ounce soda can. When these much calories are taken in liquid form, the person will not feel satiated and this results in further increase in the calories intake by eating solid food.
A study done in 2011 revealed that on any given day in America half of its population consumes sugary drinks. About 5 of these people consume 567 calories in sugary drinks; and 1 in 4 of them consumes 200 calories in form of these drinks.
In case of adolescents, sugary beverages, such as sports drinks, soda and energy drinks are the primary source of calories with consumption of about 226 calories in a day. Sugar beverages are loaded with calories without satisfying your hunger. A few of the past studies have revealed that sugary drinks can also increase the risk of leptin resistance, which in turn can make it hard to determine when the hunger has been satisfied. Consumption of such drinks can also be a precursor to pre-diabetes.
It will be difficult, but parents need to make efforts to cut down on their children’s urge for sweetened beverages. The first step starts at home where parents should stop keeping sodas and other sweet drinks at home and only use them when needed such as at an event. Children should be made to understand that these beverages are to be consumed only once in a while and should not be a part of their dietary intake. The trick here is to reduce the dependency, need and intensity of the sweet taste on the child’s taste buds. If they go without sugary beverages for a sufficient amount of time, then gradually the desire for consuming them decreases.
Alternatives to Sweet Beverages(5)
Here is where this idea comes of having water with meals. When your child feels the need to drink something with their meal, the best bet is to serve them water or low-fat dairy drink.
If water is boring for your child then you can flavor it with mint, lemon, berries, cucumbers or cantaloupe. About 20% of daily water intake comes from food. Ideally children should drink around 1.7 liters of water in a day and adults should drink about 2.7 liters of water in a day.
Water is a natural appetite suppressant, so it is a no brainer that it will help in cutting down the obesity if it is used in place of sugar drinks, such as soda. Water is also an essential nutrient which one cannot do without for good health.
