Opinion Paper

         My opinion paper is about banning pop in schools, which many districts have already done. First of all, drinking pop on a daily basis is straight up unhealthy. Second of all, millions of Americans are struggling with being overweight, and the temptation of a pop machine next to their locker is not a step forward to losing weight. Finally, pop causes serious cavities. Cavities cause serious dental bills. In this economy, many families cannot afford expensive dental bills.

         A 12-ounce can of coke has 39 grams of sugar.  That’s 39 grams of sugar you could have saved yourself from if you would have chose a bottle of water over coke. In one night, a can of coke can melt a 12-ounce sirloin steak down to gristle and fat. Not the best thing student students should be drinking while taking a test their college transcripts rely on. Also, drinking something with that much sugar in it gives you something called empty calories, which give you absolutely no vitamins or minerals. It only makes you want more and more food, causing obesity. Those are only few of the facts about pop that will make you think twice while headed to your nearest vending machine.

         The state with the fattest people as of today is Mississippi, where 68% of people are overweight. Think of being in a classroom of students where about two thirds of them are fat. There is something wrong with that image. Allowing the selling of pop in schools is a step forward towards making that obesity rate even higher than it already is. One main cause of obesity is the lack of physical activity. Drinking pop all day makes people crash and lose energy right away. And with that little amount of energy in you, there is no motivation to lose that extra weight. It just keeps getting worse and worse. Also, having too much sugar in your body is not good for your developing brain. It seems like it’s the exact opposite of what they should be selling in a learning environment.

         Many families in this day and age are undergoing very hard times financially.  Dentist bills are also getting more expensive by the day. So the last thing a struggling family needs is a two thousand dollar dentist bill to drill cavities because of there child drinking pop they buy at school on a daily basis. Many families cannot afford dental insurance either, making dental checkups even more expensive. Lastly, cavities developing in someone’s mouth without being attended to can cause tooth loss, which is a problem in many cases. These are even more reasons why schools should give more healthy options to students, other than sugary drinks.

         39 grams of sugar is a lot of sugar. You could easily avoid that unnecessary sugar by choosing something other than a coke. Also, 68% of Mississippi is overweight. Help them out by giving their students better options other than pop to fill there schools vending machines with. Lastly, many families just cannot afford to get cavities filled. Take pop vending machines out of schools to give those families something better to spend their money on other than filling unnecessary cavities.