Gotta-have-it culture ruining students’ diets

Newport-Mesa school district nutritionists are trying to cut down bellyaches resulting from kids’ bad eating habits.

“If kids ate breakfast, there would be a lot less visits to the nurse’s office,” Newport-Mesa nutritionist Pam Williams said.

The district’s Nutrition Services department is highlighting poor lifestyle habits as part of National Nutrition Month. Administrators want to raise awareness about healthier living habits, better food choices and education.

“Our society basically teaches if there is something you want, you get it, and that transcends into our diet,” Williams said.

In Orange County, 53% of adults are overweight or obese, and 35% of children are at risk or overweight, Williams said. She added that increased weight can equate to increased chronic disease, such as heart disease, diabetes or even arthritis.

“It’s a fast-forward button on the disease process,” Williams said. “When you look at lifestyles, we are not eating right.”

Williams and her colleagues work to provide educational material for students and their parents. According to them, one of the major problems with children’s diets is a lack of knowledge about what is out there.

To correct this, Nutrition Services teaches classes to parents and incorporates healthy living materials in the curriculum.

Federally funded to assist the 15 schools most in need in the district by Network of Healthy California, project coordinator Geoff Ianniello helps make sure the district gets the food and education it needs.

Nutrition Services officials work with teachers to give nutrition presentations, hold contests, offer cooking classes and have a Harvest of the Month program, choosing one item each month to give to students for taste tests, as well as providing free produce to teachers to give to students. They also promote schools to have gardens.

“If kids grow it, they are very encouraged to try them,” Ianniello said. “The sweetest carrot I ever tasted came from Paularino’s school garden.”

They have also implemented strict national and state standards on the food they provide at school.

To achieve more-balanced student diets, the school lunch program offers various healthy items. A past concern has been that students buy a la carte items, like a slice of pizza or a hamburger, for their lunch. To combat this, the school has stopped selling entree items a la carte over the last two years.

“By selling the meal we are encouraging them to get [healthier] things,” menu writer and dietitian Dale Ellis said.

DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at daniel.tedford@latimes.com.