Sugar....Oh, Honey, Honey!

At the PTA meeting on Monday we discussed the issued of whether to serve soda at Cunha dances. As you can imagine, there were opinions are all sides of the issue. There are those who believe that at a special event like a dance, a special treat like sodas is acceptable and appropriate. There are those who believe who believe that given the District's Wellness Policy and the reality of how soda negatively impacts the health of our children, it is inconsistent and not appropriate to serve sodas at Cunha dances.
I'll come straight forward with the opinion of this blogger. We know that we have a growing obesity epidemic in our country which impacts marginalized communities, particularly lower income communities and communities of color at much higher rates. This seems to be true in CUSD as well. The 2006 Healthy Kids Survey estimates that approximately 18% of Half Moon Bay students in grades 5, 7 and 9 are overweight, and according to the 2006-07 California Physical Fitness test for Cabrillo Unified School District 30% of 5th grade students and 26% of 7th grade students were not in the Healthy Fitness Zone. At Cunha Intermediate School, 46% of our students are Caucasian and 44% are Latino. 45% of our student population qualifies for Free or Reduced Lunch. We have a significant population of student at high risk of obesity and other diseases related to unhealthy eating and lack of activity. As a public institution it behooves us to consider our programming from a public health perspective. We live in a county that is dedicated to childhood obesity prevention. The Get Health San Mateo task force has developed a strategic plan and has many resources available to us to consider healthy alternatives and effective strategies for educating our families and children about healthy living (www.gethealthysmc.org). We have an opportunity to provide healthy environments and for our children so that they learn healthy habits.
The question then is what this looks like in our day to day decision making. Do we award our students with candy? Do we sell chocolate for fundraisers? Do we serve sodas at dances? I, personally am not one for taking away all treats and sweets from our children. As a big fan of chocolate, I would not want anyone to tell me I can have my occasional indulgence. At the same time, are we contradicting our messages of health and wellness if we are serving soda shots and an abundance of sweets at events hosted by the school? The Get Healthy San Mateo Task force suggests striking a balance. Instead of going to extremes in either direction one option is the 80%/20% option. At any given event, for any given meal, or even planning a snack, be sure that 80% is healthy and only 20% on the more unhealthy side. Cunha has many efforts underway already and CUSD is increasingly serving healthy food options to students. There are many more things we could do and considering the food we serve to our students at dances may be one venue for some changes.
As it turns out, it is not up to the PTA to make the decisions about what food will be served at dances. It is up to the students. How will they decide? Do they have the information and education they need to make those decisions? What are the messages and practices they are getting at home and how do those foster healthy eating and healthy habits. I have found over the years that this topic is very personal for folks. It becomes political very quickly and can become divisive and understandably so. Food has very much to do with personal taste, cultural perspective, and one's life experience. It also has to do with economics and policy, which makes it a rich community topic. We welcome your thoughts and perspective, your personal experiences and practices. As with all communication we expect that all input will be delivered with respect and in such a way that facilitates dialogue.