Last Wednesday I spent the day listening to a series of nutrition seminars put on by a group of graduate students.
The day was full of great information and lots of really cool research that was presented by a group of very bright students.
Here is the most startling thing I learnt yesterday-
One particular student was doing her research on school time activity. Her plan was to go into schools during lunch, initiate an ‘activity hour’ and then measure the health effects this extra activity had on the kids.
Here’s the kicker. When she was trying to recruit schools, one particular school couldn’t participate because their lunch times were taken up by ‘pizza days’ three days per week!
Now, I can remember back to my days in grade school and pizza days were a big thing. Once every month or two, my class would have pizza brought in for lunch. Talk about a special treat.
But this particular school had pizza day 3 DAYS A WEEK!!!
The reason – probably because it brought in fund-raising money. Unfortunately, it also helps develop some horrible eating habits at a very young age.
Whether you are running ‘pizza days’ at a school or entertaining guests at your house, low-quality high-calorie food will always be the quick and easy choice. And, every now and again this is perfectly OK. However, when it starts to happen 3 or 4 times a week, you are looking for trouble.
Take a look at what you eat this week. If ‘every once in awhile foods’ have turned into ‘every day foods’ it’s time to retool your nutrition plan.
