Election 2008

Without dipping into partisan prose, I think that parents of all political stripes can agree that a presidential election is a pretty important time for a country. I hope that you all are engaged in many (friendly) debates about where the country is, where we are headed, and who is best to take us where we want to go.

At the bottom of this page you'll find an interesting little widget, courtesy of the Washington Post, which lists all the candidates (even ones who have left the race, oddly) and links to coverage on various issues.

I actually like the functionality here better, but that doesn't seem to be the version they are letting me post here...naturally! Anyway, enjoy, and happy debating (and voting!)

Better School Food

Although my own kids are not yet school-age, I've always been interested in trying to figure out how to provide kids with healthier food at school. Perhaps because I remember all too well being 12 and using my lunch money to buy a cup of lemonade and two nutter-butters for lunch!

One organization, Better School Food, is working to bring healthier lunch options to school across the country. Below is their "Top 10" list of changes we should make to ensure that all kids have healthier options, and can make better choices, for food at school. The organization also has a Community Action Plan (PDF) with ample statistics about childhood obesity and other health problems associated with poor diet.

Top 10 List for Better School Food

1.	Eliminate All Products Containing Partially Hydrogenated Oils Trans fats increase harmful LDL cholesterol and decrease good cholesterol, which can contribute to heart disease.
2.	Eliminate High Fructose Corn Syrup High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) has a high glycemic index and converts to fat more than any other sugar. It increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, coronary heart disease, strokes, and cancer. Americans consumed on average 62.6 pounds of HFCS in 2001 according to the USDA. Many of the products on the market containing HFCS are geared towards children.
3.	Pay Attention to Portion Size Researchers have found that portion size matters as much as taste when it comes to overeating. A recent study showed that large packages and containers prompted people to eat more than the actual recommended serving size regardless of taste. These oversized packages can be especially confusing to children, who may not look at nutrition labels regarding varying portion sizes - especially worrisome because children and teenagers are getting a greater percentage of their calorie intake from snacks.
4.	Serve More Fresh Fruit & Vegetables Many U.S. school children are consuming more calories daily than needed, as well as choosing foods and snacks that are low in nutrients. In order to achieve normal growth and development of children and to reduce the risk of various chronic diseases, nutrient recommendations must be linked to keeping calories under control. With nearly 50% of the calories of children being consumed outside the home, it is imperative that schools offer nutrient-dense foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables in order to obtain the USDA daily recommendations.
5.	Support Local Farms / Set up Farm-to-School Programs Farm-to-school programs, through which locally grown foods are served and promoted, are beneficial for a number of reasons. Fruits and vegetables sourced locally are fresher, so they taste better, resulting in kids eating more of them. The purchase of locally-grown foods supports the local economy and strengthens the local food system. Farm-to-school programs allow students to learn about, as well as appreciate, the sources of the foods they eat and to understand the importance of local agriculture. Farm-to-school programs benefit the environment by cutting down on the amount of fossil fuels used to transport food from the farm to the consumer.
6.	Offer Vegetarian Options Daily As the quality of mass produced animal protein sources comes under scrutiny based on the amount of residual antibiotics, hormones, steroids and saturated fat content, vegetarian meals are wholesome options to be incorporated into school lunch on a rotating basis. Institutional foods, as purchased by many schools, may not always provide the most wholesome sources of animal protein. Vegetarian meals, not only wholesome and nutritious, also tend to be more economical, assisting the food budget.
7.	Serve More Whole Grains & Beans The body needs carbohydrates mainly for energy. The best sources of carbohydrates are whole grains because the body cannot digest them as quickly as highly processed carbohydrates. This keeps blood sugar and insulin levels from rising, then falling, too quickly. Better control of blood sugar and insulin can keep hunger at bay and may prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. Eating whole grains may also make kids feel more satisfied for a longer period of time.
8.	Discontinue Use of Poor Quality Oils Partially hydrogenated oils used for frying and food preparation, which are usually industrially processed oils such as soy, corn, cottonseed and canola, are derived from genetically modified food sources and extrapolated into oil using high heat and chemical processes, thus denaturing the oil and making it difficult to be utilized properly by the body. This phenomenon is linked to many diseases.
9.	Give Adequate Time for Students to Eat Lunch Students need adequate time to eat to meet their nutritional needs, which is essential for optimal student health and performance. Students who aren't rushed can relax, make healthier food choices, and enjoy their food more. Food served but not eaten does not contribute to nutritional health. Allowing enough time for students to eat can also prevent transient hunger that hinders attention and learning.
10.	Decrease Refined Carbohydrate Foods & Snacks Highly refined carbohydrates are rapidly absorbed into the body, much like ingesting simple sugars, resulting in a spike in glucose levels. This causes individuals to still feel hungry or to become hungrier sooner, only to consume even more food. This repetitive pattern is believed to contribute to the obesity epidemic. It also increases the risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

If I could add a #11 (or perhaps this should be #1): Drink WATER. Nothing else is as good for the body, not even milk or fruit juices, and yet too many kids--and adults--drink anything but water.

Fewer Mothers Prefer Full-time Work

In a recent study of the changing attitudes of mothers, the Pew Research Organization determined that fewer mothers prefer full-time work now (2007) than did in 1997:

Among working mothers with minor children (ages 17 and under), just one-in-five (21%) say full-time work is the ideal situation for them, down from the 32% who said this back in 1997, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Fully six-in-ten (up from 48% in 1997) of today's working mothers say part-time work would be their ideal, and another one-in-five (19%) say she would prefer not working at all outside the home.

But, really, how is this surprising? My only surprise is that a third of mothers in 1997 thought that full-time work was their ideal situation. Frankly, I'm amazed that working full-time is ANYONE's ideal situation. Be honest: if money weren't a factor; if, say, you could get paid the same for working just 4 days a week, wouldn't you jump at the chance?

Personally, I think it's the main folly of American society that we expect that our workers spend 40 hours or more a week working. Why can't the standard be a 4 day work week? In my logical analysis, the money saved over the long term because we are (1) overall healthier and saner due to working less, (2) able to work longer because we aren't burned out and desperate to retire would more than make up for having to hire extra people to cover the one day's productivity lost. In fact, I'm not convinced that there would be all that much lost productivity: I think that a happier employee with a better quality of life is going to be more productive and focused in the time they are at work, knowing that they have every Friday off, or that they get to leave the office at 3:30 instead of 5.

Image courtesy of Gotham Gazette.

Check Your Facts!

No matter the slant of your political leanings, I think most of us can agree that one of the most frustrating things about being an informed citizen is knowing just how true are the various claims made by politicians of all stripes. Enter: FactCheck.org

A "nonpartisan, nonprofit, 'consumer advocate' for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics," FactCheck.Org has as it's mission to "monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases." Part of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, FactCheck accepts no funding from business corporations, labor unions, political parties, lobbying organizations or individuals. Whahoo! Talk about truth in advertising!

Happy Kids! (Or are they?)

The Associated Press and MTV conducted a poll of 1,280 people ages 13-24 and determined that kids love their parents. Okay, I over-simplify. But in response to the open-ended question, "What makes you happy?" the most common answer was their parents. What great news! Right?

Of course, what the AP article doesn't clearly state is that while 49% of teens said that their relationship with their family made them "very happy," a full 61% said that "listening to music" also made them "very happy." So, are they happier with music than their family?

Also glossed over is the statistic that 58% of those polled said that "the way things are in the world" made them either somewhat or very unhappy. Only 15% said they where somewhat or very happy with the state of the world. To me, that sounds like a lot of young adults who are dissatisfied with the world they soon will be inheriting...

One thing that is so frustrating with these types of polls is that they take a sampling (less than 1,300) of kids, ask them a bunch (100) of different questions and then someone somewhere along the line between the people conducting the research and the reporters reporting on it decides which "research" findings they want to publicize. And, folks, that's all we see--what someone else has decided is important. Now, as someone who works in education research, I fully understand that it's not always easy, possible, or even desirable to publish the full text of questions asked, how the responses are analyzed, or what conclusions can be drawn. But as a discerning consumer of information, this poll just leaves me wanting to know more. Who are these 1,280 kids? Are they truly a representative sample of kids across the U.S.? Good research practices would dictate that they are, but without more information, we just have to trust that this poll, and the news article written from it, is giving us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

As it happens, I know of a far superior research study into the true happiness of kids today that provides relevant, real-time data reporting personalized to your specific socio-economic, cultural, and geographic background: just ask them yourself. I hear that works wonders.




Graphic from: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070820/ap_on_re_us/youth_poll_happiness