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By Carolyn Rundle Field, September 12, 2006 As featured in the September/October issue of Wilton Magazine |
A bag of celery and a candy bar. French fries and chocolate milk. A bagel and potato chips. This was lunch—packed or purchased—for many Wilton children in Miller/Driscoll on up through the high school during a recent school lunch period. Not exactly a balanced diet and one reason obesity rates for U.S. kids are on the rise.
 Jeff Pemberton |
In towns like Wilton with a primarily middle and upper income and well-educated population, where many kids participate in multiple sports or physical activities and have access to town parks, tennis courts, playgrounds, and hiking trails, obesity is less of an issue than in other areas of the country. But that doesn’t mean Wilton kids are home free. Even if our kids aren’t tipping the scale at the same rate as the national average, many may not be developing the healthiest eating habits.
It is noteworthy the extent to which Wilton parents feel a measure of guilt on the topic of their children’s nutrition that no one who was interviewed for this article permitted their name to be used.
Recent national research indicates that kids’ fast food consumption has increased significantly; more than 60% of kids eat too much fat and less than 20% eat the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. In addition, 32% of adolescent girls and 52% of adolescent boys are consuming three or more eight-ounce servings of sweetened soft drinks daily. Studies link these eating patterns to increases in the percentage of kids who are overweight or obese. They also warn that “overweight children…have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults and face major health problems like diabetes and heart disease.”
“Childhood obesity is a hot topic in pediatrics,” remarked Dr. Jeanine Freliech, a pediatrician with Doctor’s Pediatrics in Wilton. “Thankfully, the obesity rate appears to be lower in Wilton than other parts of the country. We do see overweight kids here, but we’re fortunate in this town in that kids have access to so many different physical activities. Many kids play multiple sports or are involved in dance or karate. However, weight problems may develop as kids mature and their metabolism changes. Right before puberty, kids’ caloric needs are tremendous and they often pack on the pounds. Most will stretch out and grow into their weight. But kids who go through puberty and aren’t active may put on extra pounds, particularly if they haven’t developed healthy eating habits.”
In Wilton, as in the rest of the country, high-fat, high-sugar foods are everywhere, even at athletic events like track and swim meets. They’re convenient and enticing, and kids here have money in their pockets to buy them. After school, kids come home to refrigerators and pantries stocked with sodas and snacks; after soccer games, they’re rewarded with bags of Oreo cookies and bottles of Gatorade. At the Wilton Y, they have easy access to candy, soda, and ice cream from the vending machines and cooler in the lobby. In Miller/Driscoll and Cider Mill, it’s not unusual to see students take one bite of their pizza, ignore the fruit and vegetable that comes with the lunch, and then throw everything into the garbage despite being encouraged to finish their meal by the school staff. Even when kids bring lunch from home, many of them don’t eat a balanced meal. They polish off the dessert and the chips, but much of the rest of the lunch—often the “healthy” part—ends up in the trash. At Middlebrook School and Wilton High School, students tend to eat everything they buy or bring from home, but many of them are still not making healthy choices. French fries, potato chips, cookies, and slushies are standard daily fare. High school students can also buy candy after lunch from the school store located right next to the cafeteria. One of the store volunteer staffers recalls a high school student who came in with her bag of celery and bought a candy bar. “That was her lunch,” said the volunteer.
In response to national concern about childhood nutrition and rising childhood obesity rates, the Wilton Public School System adopted new nutrition policies in April ’06. These policies actually exceed the Connecticut State Department of Education guidelines and provide more stringent nutritional criteria for meals and snacks. Sodas and electrolyte replacement drinks have been eliminated, and schools avoid offering “drinks high in sugar or caffeine or containing artificial sweeteners.” The guidelines also state that candy can’t be sold in the cafeterias, school stores, and vending machines in grades K-8. Candy can be purchased in the high school “only beginning 30 minutes after the last lunch period…and will represent no more than 20% of the snack options available.” These new policies should help reduce the amount of empty calories Wilton kids consume while they’re at school, but unfortunately don’t have much of an impact on what they eat elsewhere.
Easy access to “junk food” is one factor contributing to rising obesity rates; that many kids here spend an increasing number of hours involved in sedentary activities like watching TV, surfing the Internet, instant messaging friends, and playing computer and video games, despite the community’s emphasis on athletics, is another. “Even with all the great youth sports programs we have in Wilton, you’d be surprised at how many Wilton kids don’t participate,” noted Rob Hess, Wilton resident and owner of the three My Gym Children’s Fitness Centers in Fairfield County. “We get a lot of kids who do very little. Their parents enroll them in classes at My Gym because they want their kids to be more active. They know it’s important to instill good fitness habits while their kids are young. They want their kids to learn that getting physically fit can be an enjoyable part of their daily routine and their life. In fact, My Gym’s mission is to make fitness fun for kids.”
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