Should High School Curricula Place a Greater Emphasis on Health-Related Topics?

Abstract

Purpose: In the United States, the current high school (HS) curriculum places inadequate focus on important topics like nutrition, even though research on the eating habits of teens indicates that they drink one or more cans of soda per day, do not eat breakfast, and eat a minimal amount of fruits/vegetables. Similarly, HS curricula don’t typically require that students be educated in critical health interventions even though most people lack formal training in basic first-aid and 70% of Americans feel helpless to act during a cardiac emergency because they don’t know how to administer CPR. Given …