Emma Henderson

English 1201

Professor Hunter

27 October 2019

Annotated Bibliography

An, Ruopeng, et al. “State Laws Governing Competitive Foods and Beverages Sold in

Schools and Childhood Obesity among Children with Special Healthcare Needs,

2007‐ 2016.” American Journal of Health Behavior, vol. 42, no. 6, 2018, pp. 124–

133., doi:10.5993/ajhb.42.6.12.

In Ruopeng An’s article, “State Laws Governing Competitive Foods and

Beverages Sold in Schools and Childhood Obesity among Children with Special

Healthcare Needs,” he covers many aspects of this topic. The journal tells about the

study done to assess the state laws governing the food and beverages sold in schools

to children with and without special health care needs. The children with special

healthcare needs are more prone to emotional eating conditions, therefore, allowing

more food to be consumed during school hours. The purpose of this journal is to show

the study done on the laws and data of obesity in schools. All of the information found in

this article will be useful and will be very informative to my research paper in many

ways. For example, this journal is very credible and states many good facts that can be

used to conclude my research paper. This source is credible being found on the Sinclair

library database.
Barrington, Kate. “What Are Public Schools Doing to Fight Obesity and Is It Working?”

Public School Review, 29 Aug. 2018, www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/what-

are-public-schools-doing-to-fight-obesity-and-is-it-working.

In this article written by Kate Barrington, she talks about the epidemic of

childhood obesity rising in America. She talks about the childhood obesity rates and

how they are ever rising. Barrington not only talks about the problems obesity causes,

the growing epidemic, and the health issues it brings but she covers the causes. A few

of the contributing factors listed are: not enough sleep at night, eating too many

calories, bad habits such as watching too much television, and more. Barrington asks,

“What role do public schools play?” Well this is the question that I am basing my whole

research paper off and is one of the important reasons why this article is perfect for me

to use. 95% of children are enrolled in school, allowing the schools to have a huge

impact in most aspects of their life.. Including the food they eat. This article is shown

credible by the very recent publishing date of 2018. The author is reliable and has valid

citations. This article is speaking to parents of children in America and suggesting ways

to prevent health issues in our society.

Easterling, Traci. “Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents in Schools -

The Role of the School Nurse.” Overweight and Obesity in Children and

Adolescents in Schools - The Role of the School Nurse - National Association of

School Nurses, www.nasn.org/advocacy/professional-practice-

documents/position-statements/ps-overweight.
 This article is written by Traci Easterling. In the article, “Overweight and Obesity

in Children and Adolescents in Schools - The Role of The School Nurse,” it shows a

different side to the argument, coming from the nurses’ perspective. The article speaks

on the importance of preventing obesity and the effects it can have on our society as a

whole. The article states how one in every six children remain obese and how nurses

can play a huge role in this situation by helping in all ways possible. In this article, it

basically summarizes how school nurses can identify and help students at risk to

diabetes and being obeses by establishing new guidelines. The purpose of writing this

article is to educate and that is what the author is trying to do. This article is credible as

it comes from a credible source, which we know by the date it was published and the

citations the author provided. This article will help my research paper by backing up my

argument that schools can, with concentrated goals and identifiable objectives, move

from being a part of the problem to part of the solution for childhood obesity.

Marr, Kendra. “At High School, Pit Stops Add 21,000 Calories in Two Hours.” The

Washington Post, WP Company, 19 May 2008, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-

dyn/content/article/2008/05/18/AR2008051801475.html.

This article was written by Kendra Marr, a staff reporter for the Washington Post.

The article was published in May 2008, and was part of a series written to examine the

epidemic of childhood obesity facing America. The article was overseen by pediatrician,

Jim Baugh, who claimed that environment is the problem in the vast majority of cases of

childhood obesity. School food options were examined, particularly vending machines.
The author observed activity around hallway vending machines in a Washington D.C.

suburb public high school. She was able to calculate that 21,000 calories were

consumed by students before lunch time even arrived. She makes the argument that

the calories were primarily empty and unhealthy, but appealing to teens because of their

constant availability, low cost and popular flavors. The teens claimed that the vending

machines offered constant options, while the cafeteria was only open for certain hours.

While the students liked some items offered in the cafeteria, they often found they could

more easily afford the vending machine options. Finally, much of the food offered in the

lunch room included ingredients and recipes which the students found unpalatable. The

staff at the school recognized the problem, but the principal claimed that changes would

have to be made slowly. If fruit and healthy options were suddenly all that the students

found in the vending machines, they would likely choose not to make purchases. For

some, the vending machines offered the only food they ate in the mornings and the only

means of having energy to concentrate. While a serious problem obviously faced the

school, the solutions were not simple ones. The author is participating in a series

designed to spur the community and readers of the Washington Post to be proactive in

fighting childhood obesity. She is credible and reliable because she observed the

situation first hand and is recounting the details with great detail. This article will be

beneficial to my argument because it shows that students have poor options available to

them from the moment they enter schools, but that school administrators are often at a

loss for how to deal with the issue and make positive changes.
Pandita, Aakash, et al. “Childhood Obesity: Prevention Is Better than Cure.”

Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity : Targets and Therapy, Dove Medical

Press, 15 Mar. 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4801195/.

This article was published in a Diabetes journal published by Dove Medical Press

in 2016. The article was a result of a collaboration of many prominent pediatricians,

surgeons, and dieticians. The article discusses the prevalence of obesity in the

pediatric population and how obesity often remains a problem for children and

eventually plagues them in adulthood and burdens them with many secondary health

problems. The article points out that childhood obesity is the fifth leading factor for

mortality. The authors make the argument that dealing with and preventing obesity in

children is healthier, more effective, and more cost efficient than waiting until later in life

to address the inevitable health problems which will arise. The article argues that

modern day environments have all but eliminated routine physical activity for children

and have made unhealthy foods more accessible and more affordable. The writers’

collective goal in this article was to spur their audience, the medical community, to

prioritize fighting childhood obesity and look for innovative ideas to help prevent

complications of obesity. This article will be effective in establishing that childhood

obesity is, indeed, a problem facing American children and an area needing great

attention and solutions.

Schanzenbach, Diane Whitmore. “Do School Lunches Contribute to Childhood

Obesity?” Journal of Human Resources, vol. 44, no. 3, 2009, pp. 684–709.,

doi:10.3368/jhr.44.3.684.
 In this paper by Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, she discusses the influence that

school lunches have on obesity in children. She uses panel data to find that the children

who eat their lunch at school every day are much more likely to be obese than the

children who pack a lunch. The paper covers the statistics on the obesity rates in

kindergarten and how this sort of behavior affects the children as they continue to grow

older. She also covers the prices of school lunches and how this affects the children.

This paper hits many key factors I will use in my research paper. Many aspects of this

paper will be beneficial to my paper, as she covers some big points. The purpose of this

article is to assess whether or not school lunches contribute to childhood obesity. This

article was written in 2005, so although it may be a little older/dated, the paper still

makes some very detailed points that will be useful in my paper and are still relevant

today. This article is shown credible to use by the publisher and journal of human

resources. The author is reliable and has a good selection of other articles available.

Squires, Sally. “Sally Squires - Healthy Home Ec.” The Washington Post, WP Company,

20 May 2008, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-

dyn/content/article/2008/05/16/AR2008051603540.html.

This article was written by Sally Squires, a health and nutrition columnist for the

Washington Post. She was addressing the readers in the Washington DC metro area

and participating in an effort to encourage the community to be educated about

childhood obesity and contribute to making changes to help prevent it. The article is

entitled, “The Clean Plate Club,” and appeared in the Washington Post in May, 2008.
She visited schools in the Washington, DC area and observed home economics

classes. What she found was that students actively involved in choosing menus and

cooking the recipes of their choice were far more likely to make healthy choices and

give whole food meals a chance. Many students reported that they would never have

tried many of the ingredients had their moms served them, but that after making them

on their own, they felt a pride in their ability and a desire to eat the fruits of their labors.

Both boys and girls reportedly changed many attitudes towards healthy eating and also

realized that their choices were often more economical than eating foods already

prepared. These changes in attitudes and enthusiastic responses were also able to

transfer to their families at home and lead to changes for their whole household. This

article conveyed the author’s genuine enthusiasm for an approach which really made

positive changes in the health of kids. The author is educated about nutrition, writes

regularly about food and health, and is part of an effort to gain support and interest in a

community for fighting obesity. Her article is informative and genuine and highly

relevant. The article will be beneficial to my paper as it will allow me to demonstrate

ways schools have found to make a positive impact on e fight against childhood obesity.