I’ve been known to indulge in a cupcake or two… or six, at times.
Typically, I follow the splurge with a few miles on the treadmill or an extra-long bike ride.
Not exactly the healthiest of patterns, but it supports the philosophy that in order to avoid packing on the pounds you need to burn more calories than you consume.
Interestingly, that simple equation is at the center of a controversial ban being implemented in Massachusetts public schools.
Beginning August 1st, the state is no longer allowing bake sales to take place on school grounds. In addition, Massachusetts is unveiling a new set of nutritional guidelines, which bans the serving of food that’s not part of the regular lunch program in hallways, cafeterias, vending machines or school stores, from 30 minutes before the school day begins until 30 minutes after it ends. This includes the aforementioned bake sales and any unhealthy birthday treats students may have wanted to share with classmates to commemorate turning a year older.
If you think that’s harsh consider that lawmakers are also encouraging school administrators to extend the ban to include weekend events, such as football games and math league competitions.
In other words, if you live in Massachusetts, you can forget about buying a cupcake or “unhealthy” hot dog at your kid’s soccer game or science fair, if administrators decide to eliminate junk food from school-related events.
Massachusetts officials claim the ban promotes healthier living; something that bears addressing considering that one-third of the state’s school children is either overweight or obese.
Of course, not everyone is jumping on the anti-cupcake bandwagon.
According to the Boston Herald, scores of parents and boosters are livid that they will no longer be able to raise funds for sports teams and the arts from bake sales.
One dad pointed out that his son’s high school marching band sold more than 8,000 pounds of fudge to help pay for their trip to the Rose Bowl parade earlier this year.
He went on to say that there’s no way the students would have been able to raise the funds if they had been forced to sell apples and bananas.
Fundraising issues aside, many parents oppose the ban simply because they don’t think that schools should dictate when and where their kids indulge in sweets and other unhealthy treats. Meanwhile, other moms and dads say that schools should concentrate more on promoting exercise rather than banning the sale of junk food.
Whose side are you on? Do you think that schools can or should play a role in attempting to raise healthier kids?
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