By Nadin Naumann Stand in line at the State College High School cafeteria and watch the students as they make their lunchtime food selections. While they have an array of options to choose from, what ends up on the trays are pizza, fries or grilled cheese, and what ends up left behind are apples, salads and sandwiches. Kids and young adults today are less likely to choose a healthy meal. According to the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), food companies spend about $15 billion per year on child-targeted advertisement in order to make sure it stays that way. Young people today are bombarded with marketing everywhere they go. They hear advertisements on the radio or see them on T.V., on the Internet and in magazines. Increasingly, they are also exposed to advertising on school buses and even in the classroom through news programs produced for schools. The PHAI states that marketers are trying to establish brand loyalty from birth. They use licensed TV and film characters such as Dora the Explorer, Blues Clues and SpongeBob Squarepants to help sell everything from greasy fast food to less-than-healthy store-bought selections. The industry has developed games and toys for children to help sway them into choosing their product. There is Coca-Cola Barbie, McDonald’s Play-Doh and books such as the M&M’s Counting Book. These are just a few examples of junk food advertisements in disguise. State College Area School District Food Manager Megan Schaper has been working with food services in the area for about 15 years. She said there is definitely a correlation between advertising and kids’ food choices. A few years ago the high school was buying pizza from Pizza Hut, but that became very expensive. Schaper organized a blind taste test with brand-name pizzas and the school’s pizza. The school’s pizza actually ended up winning; however, students still wanted brand-name pizzas like Domino’s and Pizza Hut in the end. “It’s a perfect example of how media has an impact on their food choices,” said Schaper. In 2007, a study was conducted by Stanford University with children in the Packard Children’s Hospital. Children were asked to sample two identical foods from McDonald’s. The study showed that children preferred the taste of the version branded with the restaurant’s familiar “Golden Arches” than from the one in unmarked paper packaging, even though the same fries were in both. The study, led by associate professor of pediatrics Thomas Robinson, showed that even young children are swayed by brand preferences. Almost 77 percent thought that McDonald’s fries served in a McDonald’s bag tasted better, compared to 13 percent who liked the fries in a plain white bag. They also served carrots in a McDonald’s bag and it had the same results. The Healthy School Lunch Campaign, sponsored by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), is dedicated to improving the food in the U.S. school system. The campaign’s key message is that foods served in schools should promote the health of all children. Director of Nutrition Education of PCRM Susan Levine also said that media and marketing have a strong impact on the choices kids are making in school. “It makes you wonder how the industry can stomach what their goals are, which is of course to make money at the extent of people’s health,” said Levine. “It’s not going to be the industry who makes the decision to say I would rather kids be healthy than make money.” According to the 2008 PCRM’s School Lunch Report Card, menus in most school lunch programs are too high in saturated fat and cholesterol and too low in fiber- and nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables. PCRM dietitians analyzed elementary school lunches served by 20 school districts for the report. “While they’re in school is a prime time and opportunity to feed kids something healthy and educate them about what healthy food is for years and years to come,” said Levine. Levine also explained that children are bigger than they’ve ever been. Obesity is on the rise and it triples among some age groups because of the food they are eating. “We never even referred to kids as obese back in the day,” said Levine. “Now 2-year-olds are suffering from chronic diseases that were once only referred to for adults such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and cholesterol.” The answer to solving this problem isn’t as easy as some organizations are making it out to be, however. Schaper explained that there is a huge lack of funding in the school district that prohibits them from purchasing healthy foods year-round. “The food is not funded like a class. It is funded by selling products to children,” said Schaper. “The children are the customers and the food service runs like a business selling them what they want.” This poses difficulties for Schaper because she would much rather give these children a healthier lunch, but if she served them tofu lasagna instead of pizza no one would buy it and there wouldn’t be any money for food services. “The money that these children use to pay for their foods goes directly to paying the staff, buying supplies, and more,” said Levine. “If they started giving out foods that they probably wouldn’t buy, then the funding wouldn’t be there anymore.” Schaper is working on finding a good middle ground. “A lot of schools are now serving pizza with a whole wheat crust,” said Schaper. “We are looking to implement those same ideas in this school system.” Perhaps a little nudging and role modeling can also help young students choose a healthy meal for lunch. At Ferguson Township Elementary School teachers stand at the end of the line helping students choose a melon or an apple as a side. “You will rarely see a child without fruits or vegetables on their plate,” said Schaper. USDA Public Affairs Specialist Kim Phillips agreed that schools need to be able to offer more healthy choices. In addition, she stated that even though advertising has had a bad influence in the past on children maybe now they can turn around and have the opposite effect. “Right now the media can be used as a positive tool to promote healthy school lunches,” said Phillips. “More and more actors and actresses are coming on board and promoting healthier foods.” In July, actor Tobey Maguire sent letters to congressional leaders asking that the Child Nutrition Act provide more healthy vegetarian options in school lunches. “I am deeply concerned that unhealthy school lunches are contributing to our nation’s childhood obesity epidemic,” wrote Maguire in the letters to Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “My wife and I just had our second child, so this issue is tremendously important to us.” The government has already started to implement healthier choices in schools. The USDA is currently running a campaign called The Eat Smart Play Hard Campaign. It encourages and teaches children, parents and caregivers to eat healthy and be physically active every day. In 2004, federal reauthorization of the National School Lunch Program mandated all schools to enact a wellness policy by July 1, 2006. The State College Area School District along with the other area school districts now carry a wellness policy that includes goals for nutritional education, physical activity and nutrition guidelines for all served foods. Though there is still a Papa John’s pizza day in some State College district schools, students are still being encouraged to choose a healthier option. On the lunch menu there are advertisements and cartoons promoting choosing a healthier lunch. One menu had a cartoon of a Santa stuck in a chimney stating, “For years, he’d been telling himself that the chimneys were getting skinnier, but he could no longer deny that he had A NASTY COOKIE HABIT!” Will children ever choose a healthy sandwich over greasy pizza? Levine said she believes that one day they will, especially with the help of the government. “The government has to step in and say you can’t directly market to kids,” said Levine. “Just like they have done with smoking and drug advertisements. You no longer see cartoons being used on smoking campaigns.”