"middle school" news and stories

For his science experiment this year, a middle school student from Boca Raton, Florida decided that he would test the effects of energy drinks on blood sugar. He came up with the idea because the drinks are hugely popular with his friends who feel that the drinks give them a "boost" and was already familiar with blood sugar and testing it because his cousin is a diabetic. Lucas Peel's hypothesis was that the drinks with the greatest amount of sugar and caffeine would produce the greatest increase in blood sugar, giving the drinker a burst of energy.

Over the course of about a week, Lucas drank Red Bull, Rock Star, Amp and water, testing his blood sugar levels twice after each of the three times he tried each drink. He found that, contrary to his original theory, it was "the energy drinks with the least sugar [that] increased blood sugar level." Red Bull boosted blood sugar more than any of the other drinks.

Lucas says that he avoids energy drinks and hopes that his project will help some of his fellow students to realize that they are not a good replacement for a real breakfast.

This isn't the first time that a middle-school student has conducted a science project that attracts a far-ranging interest. Earlier this year, for example, a student in Tampa, FL tested samples of water from the toilets at fast food restaurants and compared it to the ice from the soda machines, only to discover that there were more bacteria in the soda machine than the toilet.

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Legislators in Illinois have voted against a proposed junk food ban. The bill would have eliminated all junk foods from vending machines in elementary and middles schools, grades K-8, in the state.

Though the governor supported it, the rest of the law makers said that it was not enough to look only at the foods offered in vending machines. A bill that was to support good nutrition in schools should require that the nutritional content of cafeteria food be examined as well. Not only would the bill have to be more balanced, it would have to apply equally to all children. Some of the original drafts contained rules that varied by age and were full of product exceptions. For example, children through grade 5 "would be limited to beverages containing 100 percent fruit juice, while drinks for middle school students could contain as little as 50 percent juice" and pretzels would be allowed, though almost no other "chips" would be.

It sounds as though the school board, which is collaborating with the law makers, and the government are on the right track in their desire to have healthier kids. Once a balance is reached, the legislature is sure to push a bill through.

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