Valery Delgado

 

Prof. Elisabeth von Uhl

ENGL 21002 M

December 11, 2018

 

Prevalence of Childhood Obesity

 

It was a cold and windy afternoon on November 29, when I had arrived to Mohegan School PS.67 to conduct an interview with Ms. Anna Murray. I had previously walked across the big red school doors to express my gratitude towards the teachers that had once educated me. Ms. Murray is a 28 year old physical education teacher that has proudly worked for this public school for nearly 4 years. As a health and workout enthusiast, she empathizes the need of a healthy lifestyle for her students. Therefore, Ms.Murray followed a daily routine of jotting down notes for healthy physical activities and keeping in mind what her students would enjoy playing. As I walk towards her cubicle size office, I noticed Ms.Murray sitting down looking intently at her notebook meanwhile her pen roll across the desk and dropped inside her black Nike duffle bag with pink trimming on the floor. Being a gym teacher, she was wearing a navy blue adidas tracksuit with black and blue color Nike sneakers and her hair tie back as bun. She unzipped one of duffle bags compartments and reached out for a plastic container that had her cooked grilled chicken with pasta and vegetables. As I approach her, she apologizes by saying “ I am sorry and you must think that I’m rude but this is my lunch hour,” I told her that it was fine and that she had nothing to worry about, I could come back later for the interview. However, she stopped me and tooked time out of her lunch break to conduct this interview. In addition, she asked me not to be too formal with the interview and to call her by her first name as she proceeded to eat her aromatic and nutritious looking meal. Around this time of day, the students were having their lunch break. Therefore, she stated that this was the perfect time to talk without interruptions. Indeed, the atmosphere was very quiet as there was no screaming nor sounds of footsteps running through the hallways. Within her tiny office there was a poster of a kitten hanging from a tree branch stating, “Hang in there.” Meanwhile, there was another posters with a famous quote from Gandhi that stated “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Even though it’s a very small and dull white room, the poster provided a sense of inspiration and persistence. Anna told me to take a seat across from her desk to begin the interview and immediately said, “ I’m glad that I finally have someone to talk about the problem of my students being so inactive and a bit overweight at such a young age.”

 

Furthermore, I started the interview by gathering answers of her previous physical activities when she was a student. Anna remembered that her classmates would be actively participating in sports or physical activities, whether at school or simply playing at the park. As a teenager, she used to be part of her school’s volleyball team which helped her keep a healthy and active lifestyle in the present. During her time teaching as a physical educator, she noticed that many students lack the stamina to participate in physical activities or games. She expressed a worry look when she mentioned that most of her students could hardly perform simple exercises activities like stretching or jumping jacks and even worse would instantly complain about how tired and painful the activities were. Moreover, she pick up upon the students habit to participate for short periods of time and follow up with sitting down on the wooden floors for the remaining time of the class. Anna stated, “the only time I would see some of my students doing any form of activity in the gym is by walking towards their bags to get a snack to eat.” She would try to encourage her students to play by providing them with fun options. Her idea was that maybe some of the students don’t like typical exercise activities so instead they should be able to choose from the variety of games. However, she express her disappointed results by shaking her head and stating that she saw the same results with her students playing for brief moments and then sitting down.

 

Anna: Obesity among her students.

 

[Beginning of recorded material]

 

Valery: Hello Anna, how are you doing today?

 

Anna: I’m doing fine Valery. Nice to see you drop by.

 

Valery: First of all, thanks for taking valuable lunch time and answering my questions. As a gym teacher, what are some problems that you have noticed among your students?

 

Anna: No problem, I am actually glad to speak about current problems for students physical health. I noticed that some of my students are not too active during the class. When it’s time to do certain exercises, they would either stand or sit down. Also, when the students decided to participate, they easily get tired. There were many times when students decided to sneak around and eat during the class period [shakes her head]

 

Valery: Have you noticed which students don’t like to participate?

 

Anna: To be honest, most of them don’t like to participate [laughs], but the students that avoid participating almost all the time are those that like eating unhealthy snacks like chips or cookies. I don’t want to sound rude but if these kids were put to do a simple exercise they will run out of air quickly and I believe is unhealthy to be overweight at such a young age.

 

Valery: Do you really believe obesity is present for most children at a young age?

 

Anna: There is nothing wrong for a child to be chubby but children that are obese could face future problems in their lives. If anyone who reads this interview could see that most of our kids  are around 20 to 40 pounds overweight without them truly knowing.

 

Valery: What do you think is causing the obesity problem among your students?

 

Anna: There are many factors that can cause obesity. But, I believe the problem truly comes from what the parents are buying their children for “snacks” especially from the nearby grocery stores around our school. I understand that the school lunch that is given sometimes doesn’t taste good and that the students won’t eat it. But I believe that as a parent, you don’t need to buy your children bags of candy and sugary drinks. I see this everyday, the students consuming sugary beverages and fatty foods, which makes them tired as soon as they step inside the gym.

 

Valery: Have you ever try to address the problem of obesity to your students?

 

Anna: In class, I do my best to emphasize the value of a well balanced and nutritious meal. I want to convey the idea that just because something it’s healthy, that doesn’t mean it can’t be delicious. Plus, I want them to have fun and play or at least move around with activities or sports.

 

Valery: Do you think that children eat unhealthy because it’s more accessible and cheaper than healthy food?

 

Anna: Basically yes, I had actually thought about giving healthy and inexpensive alternatives for my students. I visited the nearby delis and there really isn’t enough options for the children to choose from. Besides, the lack of options for children, the only places that are available and cheap are pizza or burger shops. So, I understand why the children eat so unhealthy.

 

Valery: Besides eating unhealthy food, do you believe that children are overeating?

 

Anna: It’s crazy how these children have small bodies but at the same time have large appetites [laughs]. Let me tell a story, I had this one student that came to my classroom and at first ate a large bag of Cheetos and 2 bottles of Arizona Green Tea the $1 long cans, I told him to put everything away. I check on him, I say less than 5 minutes later and he ate a large chicken sandwich with an additional 2 chocolate bars. He told me that he didn’t eat breakfast or lunch. After, 20 minutes of finishing the meal, he reached for his bookbag. Only to reveal he had a second bag filled with chips and cookies. I was shocked by how much a young child can consume. I had to interfere and told him to put it away again but I knew he was going to find a way to eat it as soon as I looked away [shaking her head].

 

Valery: Do you notice any current health problems with your students?

 

Anna: Oh definitely, the children usually complain about shortness of breath and tiredness when participating in simple physical activities. One time I asked the class to run 3 laps. While, half of the class was running and racing against each other. I see that the other half runned for a few seconds and sat down on the sidewall. You could actually hear the exhaustion as they breath. Usually, when I see my students not feeling well I ask if they are okay. Most of the time, I hear the same respond of them feeling tired. I become worried for my students health and well being. I truly worry for the consequences of these children as they become adults and will face health complications.

 

[Abrupt end of Recorded Material]

 

The lunch period had just ended as the bell ring indicating it was time for the students to return to their classes. Ms.Murray had to return to the gym to supervise the students coming in, but she also complain that having students eat and sending them to physical education was a terrible idea.

 

Interviewing Ms.Murray, made me realize the issue of obesity among elementary and middle school children. Indeed, these children are surrounded by all types of fast food chains that are easily accessible in price and quantity. Leading children to eat such fatty and unhealthy sugary foods. In addition, the school provides unappetizing and at the same time unhealthy options for their students, such as burgers, pizza slides, and even ice cream. Furthermore, the time schedule for the school to place physical education right after lunch is not a preferable situation for either the children who will be tired after eating and Ms.Murray who needs to motivate them to participate in physical activities. During the interview, I notice the frustration in Ms.Murray face about the overconsumption of such unhealthy foods and lack of care for these children becoming obese. Unfortunately, the observed environment is not providing the proper resources for these children to have accessibility to healthy meals.