I was at the gym yesterday when a fellow member asked me if I would fill out a 3-question questionnaire for her child.  Sure I said, what is it for? “It is for my son’s school project (he is in 6th grade).” Upon seeing the questionnaire I was shocked by the questions!  1) How often do you eat candy? 2) What is your favorite candy? 3) Do you prefer your candy to be sweet  or tart?   I proceeded to ask what the point of this “project” was which of course she added “it is for a math class where they are going to make pie charts, this is not a nutrition class or anything like that”.

I understand kids like candy, heck when I was a kid I don’t think I met a candy I did not like (well maybe Mounds) BUT in today’s society where 1 in 3 children are obese do we really need to discuss candy any more than is necessary.  Eating healthy starts with education.  Why couldn’t this school use fruit, asking the kids what their favorite fruit is, instead?  The students might even have discovered fruits they had never tried before!  It is amazing how people assume you must be in a “nutrition class” or in the health and wellness field  to teach children healthy eating habits.  Maybe the next time there is a “math project” where pie charts need to be displayed the teacher should poll the students on their favorite healthy treat!