Why Health, Wellness and Nutrition?
School districts across the nation are looking for ways to improve their schools, but they often overlook an important influence on learning – good nutrition. The connection between nutrition, chronic disease, and learning is well established among scientists, and they are clearly aware that inadequate food intake limits childrens ability to learn about their world. Researchers know that chronically undernourished children must use their energy for tasks in order of most importance: first for maintenance of critical organ functions, second for growth, and last for social interaction and overall cognitive functioning. Children of all socioeconomic levels are at risk for poor nutrition. Some children do not get enough to eat each day because their families lack money to buy sufficient food. Other children consume enough food but have diets high in fat, sugar, and sodium that put them at risk for obesity or heart disease and other chronic illnesses. Furthermore, as the number of parents i
