Forty percent of American kids living below the poverty line are obese or overweight, according to a 2010 study published in Health Affairs. Poorer kids are more likely to be obese or overweight than middle class kids and consume a bigger proportion of their calories while at school.

With obesity issues rising, one Chicago school has banned homemade lunches. Except for students with food allergies, all students eat a well-balanced nutritious lunch from the school’s cafeteria. This change in Chicago’s school cafeterias feeds into a larger effort to combat the country’s childhood obesity epidemic. What are your thoughts on this effort? Be sure to reference any outside resources you may use in your post.

Source: Bethell, C., Simpson, L. Stumbo, S., Carle, A.C., Gombojav, N. (2010). National, state and local disparities in childhood obesity. Health Affairs, 3, 347-356.