When one thinks of the various national security threats that the United States faces, the meals our children consume at school typically don't come to mind. However, a group of retired military officers--called Mission: Readiness, believe there is a connection between the two.According to Associated Press scribe Mary Clare Jalonick, the officers are saying that because school lunches are so unhealthy, they make young people fat, which in turn, the officers argue, means that fewer of the nation's youth can meet the physical fitness requirements of the military, "and recruitment is in jeopardy."
A report on the issue, entitled "Too Fat to Fight," set to be released today, states that over nine million young adults, "or 27 percent of all Americans ages 17 to 24 are too overweight to join the military." This gives advocates of an overhaul of current child nutrition practices an unlikely ally in the effort to affect the current child nutrition standards that govern federal nutrition programs.
The group is not being silent about their concerns. The officers are storming Capitol Hill to highlight their concerns and the support they have to make changes to existing programs.
Currently, weight problems are the number one medical reason recruits are rejected by the military. Still, Jalonick reports that all branches of the military are currently meeting or exceeding their recruitment goals. However, group member and retired Navy Rear Admiral James Barnett, Jr. believes the country's current obesity trends could change this. Jalonick quotes Barnett as stating, '"[w]hen over a quarter of young adults are too fat to fight, we need to take notice' . . . He noted that national security in the year 2030 is 'absolutely dependent' on reversing child obesity rates."
Such statements from a group of military leaders could bolster both First Lady Michelle Obama's efforts to confront childhood obesity and nutrition, as well as the efforts of Congress to pass a strong Child Nutrition Act reauthorization. "Today the group is urging Congress to eliminate junk food and high-calorie beverages from schools, put more money into the school lunch program and develop new strategies that help children develop healthier habits."
It appears the Senate is heeding the group's concerns. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln (AR) has introduced legislation that spends $4.5 billion more over 10 years for nutrition programs. The bill would also set healthier options for all food items in schools--requiring all foods sold in schools to meet national nutritional standards. These standards would be established by the US Department of Agriculture Secretary and would be consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Additionally, major beverage manufacturers reached an agreement with the committee to remove their high-calorie products from school campuses on their own, before the legislation becomes law.
The Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously passed the Lincoln bill. The full Senate has not yet acted on the legislation, and with the financial reform bill taking center stage, along with upcoming fights over the next Supreme Court justice, as well as climate change legislation, it is not quite clear when the Senate will take up the child nutrition bill. Current regulations haven't been update in 30 years and over 30 million children use the federal school lunch program.
According to Jalonick's reporting, the initial nutrition programs for children in schools was started following World War II because military leaders complained to Congress that many children had stunted growth and inadequate nutrition, which affected those who could have served from doing so during the war. So, the military leaders "pushed Congress to establish the national school lunch program so children would grow up healthier." The original bill language states that the school lunch program was started '"as a measure of national security [.]"'
We shall see if pressure from a group of retired military officers can get the Congress to act more swiftly on what, at least as far as the Senate Agriculture Committee was concerned, is a non-controversial piece of legislation.
To read the Jalonick article, click here.
To visit the National Agricultural Law Center's Reading Room on nutrition programs, click here.
To read the report from the retired military leaders, click here.
To visit the Mission: Readiness group's website, click here.
Posted: 04/20/10
