Schools share responsibility in weight battle

Sarah Noworolnik would be the first to say that kids her age eat more fast food.

She said the cafeteria at Hobart Middle School offers healthy choices but many times teens go for the pizza, hot dog or fries. Noworolnik, 13, likes the salad bar.

While schools share a responsibility with parents to encourage physical activity and teach children to be healthier, there's no easy answer to battling the growing number of overweight children in the region.

"There is a tendency to say the school should be able to control obesity based on what happens at lunchtime but you have to look at a youngster's entire lifestyle," Merrillville Superintendent Tony Lux said.

Diane Rice, education consultant for the Indiana Department of Education Division of School and Community Nutrition programs, said the school lunch program has been in public schools 50 years and isn't the problem.

"Kids learn their eating habits at home, not at school. I think there are lots of factors involved. There are vending machines out there with lots of sugary drinks. There are only a few restrictions on the ala carte line and what can't be sold."

The United States Department of Agriculture sets the meal requirements. There are five components to a school lunch meal -- meat/meat alternates -- no peanuts because some students are allergic but could substitute cheese or yogurt -- grains, fruits, vegetables and milk.

Schools, like the Lake Central school district, constantly review their menus.

Holly Slavens, Lake Central's food service director, said there are no a la carte lines at the elementary level, the schools have no fried food and serve desserts only once a month.

At the secondary level, a la carte lines vary from school to school, and the district has begun offering baked chips and sports drinks. "We removed all chocolate candy and snack cake foods," she said.

"When I'm in the schools I can see the kids are heavier," Slavens said. "I think it's a reduced level of activity. It's not just at school, but at home, too. There is an increased access and acceptance of calorie-dense products like sodas and chips."

Federal law also is pushing schools to address the problem.

Valparaiso Assistant Superintendent John Hutton said schools in his district already have put together a committee to develop wellness policies on physical activity and nutrition, as required by federal law.

Sister Kathleen Tait, principal of Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, is troubled by the upswing in the number of overweight students she sees. But she's also seeing an increasing focus on body image.

Crown Point High School senior Stephanie Kutanovski, 17, sees that, too.

When she looks in the mirror, she said she doesn't see the trim size 10 she is.

"My family is from Europe and food is a major part of our lives," she said.

Exercise, however, is never a problem because her family owns the Crown Point Sports Complex.

She said the images of models and celebrities that young girls see on television shape their life, but not everyone is a size 2.

"I'd like to lose 10 or 15 pounds and be a size 7," she said. But then she admits a size 7 with her athletic body is unrealistic.