Obesity, generally related to bad eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle, is one of America’s greatest health problems.
It often develops early in life, and a program offered at Mountain Ridge High School by Pharmacare of Frostburg is designed to help students avoid it.
Lisa Bohrer, Pharmacare’s director of wellness, said the key to healthy eating is not a restricted diet, but a diet that includes a variety of foods. A lunch menu served recently to Mountain Ridge juniors as part of the federally funded Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs included barbecue potato chips and a cookie.
Although a steady diet of such fare isn’t a good idea, Bohrer said even an occasional pizza, cheeseburger and order of french fries are OK. Young people should have a mixture of foods in order to get the nutrients they need to grow, she said.
GEAR UP covers more areas than just nutrition. It’s designed to encourage middle school and high school students to plan for college, and it includes a variety of outside activities and college visits.
Mountain Ridge guidance counselor John Hunt, the school’s GEAR UP coordinator, said about 50 students are involved and that a substantial number of them may go on to college because of them.
Education involves more than just what used to be called “book learning.” In our secondary schools, it means preparing young people for what should be a lifetime of learning.
A healthy body is one of the keys to this process. Young people who eat well, exercise and do the other things that contribute to health have good a head start on the rest of their lives.
Editorials
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GEAR UP
Students get keys to healthy lifestyle
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