Students have opinions, and those points of view are not restricted to MTV, video games, and the mall. Covering the child nutrition and hunger beat, I regularly meet young people who have something to tell the adults who control the food, physical education, and activity environments at their school. Students know which healthy foods taste good, how to make a nutrition lesson compelling and engaging, and what physical activities motivate kids to remain active. These are the questions each school district must answer in order to write their local wellness policy; however, school districts don't always take the time to listen to students' ideas on new policies.

On January 25, 2006, the Girl Scouts of America released a study. The New Normal? What Girls Say About Healthy Living tapped into the organization's opinionated pool of young girls and women and asked them to comment on what it means to be healthy. Their mature responses were impressive, so Connect for Kids decided to collaborate with eight Girl Scouts from across the country to find out what they think about school wellness issues. We've been showcasing two profiles every other week. Here is the fourth and final installments.

Other Q&A's.

• Angela and Lauren
• Leah and Sara
• Lauren and Megan

Ashley and Leah

Ashley and Leah

(view Leah's questions below)

Ashley is from California. She is very concerned about the health and wellness issues which she and her classmates face.

CFK: Do you think your school could benefit by being asked to come up with its own wellness policy? Why?

A: Yes, I think schools can benefit by being asked to come up with their own wellness policy because it will help us become healthier people.

CFK: What kinds of meals are healthy and tasty? What kinds of meals are healthy, but gross tasting?

A: The types of meals I think are healthy and are tasty are fruit salads, green salads, sandwiches, and other food too. The types of meals I think are healthy but gross are sushi, tuna, and soy milk.

CFK: How can schools make lessons about reading nutritional labels and recommended calorie intake interesting?

A: By playing games with the lesson

CFK: Do you think your school has a responsibility to you and your classmates to ensure that you eat nutritious food, exercise regularly, and learn about leading a healthy life? Why?

A: Yes, because school is about learning something new everyday.

CFK: What have the Girl Scouts taught you about those topics?

A: Girl Scouts has taught me to eat healthy, exercise daily, to have healthy eating habits, and have a healthy lifestyle.

CFK: During the school day, your school already regulates what you can wear, what you can learn, where you can go, etc. How much can the schools regulate what you eat? Is it effective to ban unhealthy food options? Why or why not?

A: Yes, it is good to ban unhealthy foods because it affects you a lot even though you like how it tastes.

CFK: Do you think kids who have fewer financial resources have more barriers to accessing healthy foods and physical activities? Is it always a matter of choice that children lead unhealthy lifestyles? Why or why not?

A: No, because there are programs like W.IC. No, it is not always a matter of choices that children have, it's the type of environment, and how they are raised.

CFK: Do you think your school would lose money by not selling popular low nutritious items like soda, candy, and fried foods? Is a ban worth it, if kids can just go out and buy junk food when they leave school?

A: Yes, I think schools will lose money by not selling unhealthy meals, but if the school gives lessons on how you shouldn't eat unhealthy food then people will not want so much unhealthy foods. It is up to the choices that students make about being healthier. Teachers can educate them about it but you can't always change how students eating habits will be.

Leah is from New Jersey, and her troop activities have focused on careers, gang prevention, and nutrition.

CFK: Do you think your school could benefit by being asked to come up with its own wellness policy? Why?

L: Yes, it would be good to have their own wellness policy. It would be best having their own because you won't have to worry about getting feedback from other people and other schools. Maybe after you start the wellness program, other people can give their opinion and put their thoughts on the policy and then you can add to it.

CFK: What kinds of meals are healthy and tasty? What kinds of meals are healthy, but gross tasting?

L: Things that are healthy and tasty are sandwiches, salads, chicken, and vegetables like corn. Things that are healthy and gross are things like spinach.

CFK: How can schools make lessons about reading nutritional labels and recommended calorie intake interesting?

L: They can make it more interesting by having a workshop on all different foods that are healthy and tasty and allow us to sample the various dishes.

CFK: Do you think your school has a responsibility to you and your classmates to ensure that you eat nutritious food, exercise regularly, and learn about leading a healthy life? Why?

L: I believe that it is already being done because it already has classes like gym and health. I have learned the food pyramid and ways to stay healthy like exercising.

CFK: What have the Girl Scouts taught you about those topics?

L: We did a badge on healthy living once, when I first came to Girl Scouts but we have not done anything this year.

CFK: During the school day, your school already regulates what you can wear, what you can learn, where you can go, ect. How much can the schools regulate what you eat? Is it effective to ban unhealthy food options? Why or why not?

L: They can regulate just the time that we are in there and what they give us. No, because I like to have a snack with lunch. So either way I will have a snack if they ban it or not.

CFK: Do you think your school would lose money by not selling popular low nutritious items like soda, candy, and fried foods? Is a ban worth it, if kids can just go out and buy junk food when they leave school?

L: I believe they will lose a lot of money because we are going to eat snacks anyway because we want to eat snacks .

CFK: Do you think kids who have fewer financial resources have more barriers to accessing healthy foods and physical activities? Is it always a matter of choice that children lead unhealthy lifestyles? Why or why not?

L: I don't think so because eating healthy foods does not require a lot of money or a lot of things. Normally just getting lettuce and putting some meat on it can be healthy and those things are not expensive. I think it is not a child's choice because your parents normally buy the foods that you eat and prepare the meals. So you have no choice in the matter, unless you buy your own food.

Resources

Get Ideas and Support to Develop Local Wellness Policy

• FRAC Parent Outreach Brochure
• Action for Healthy Children
• National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity
• USDA Food and Nutrition Services Local School Wellness Policy Page
• School Nutrition Association
• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention: School Health Index
• Parent's Action for Children
• Center for Science in the Public Interest
• Baum Forum

Evaluation Help

• School Wellness Communication Guide

Roshin Mathew is an Emerson Hunger Fellow working with Connect for Kids this year. She'll be interviewing more Girl Scouts about health, wellness and schools over the next few weeks.