How we improve the health of our kids

Several retired military officials see a threat to national safety because many young people are too fat for military service.

Unhealthy school lunches and a lack of physical activity are blamed for this increase in obesity among our young people. The emphasis on carbohydrates in school lunches has historically been driven by the need to get as many calories as possible into young people for whom school lunch could be the only meal they got all day. Now we are faced with personal preferences for unhealthy food and dislike for vegetables and fruit.

The lack of physical activity arises when cash-strapped schools drop physical education classes or pack them with so many students that actual "playing time" for each student is lessened considerably.

In a time of belt-tightening for schools, both these issues pose real financial problems.

Healthier lunches will require more planning, money, and changing student eating habits. Improving the fitness of our young people will require a commitment to spend shrinking educational funds to assure that every student receives sustained physical activity every day.

Another impediment to better physical education programs has been Bush's "No School Left Behind" and Obama's "Race to the Top."

Both programs put pressure on schools to find funds and time to prepare for and administer the high stake tests as they struggle to give the rest of their curriculum adequate attention.

We have political pundits and professional athletes "earning" tens of millions of dollars every year. Maybe we can find the money to improve our school lunch programs and physical education classes for the health and future success of our young people.

Fitness for military service should not be our sole motivation.

Karen Wagner

Rolling Meadows