| Source:
Managing Schools Today, September/October 2004, page 6
Recent concern
over childhood obesity has prompted two new publications by the Department
for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) which
suggest that much work remains to be done in addressing the problem.
The reports, School Meals in Secondary Schools in England and Getting
to Grips with Grub claim that a large majority of secondary schools are
meeting nutritional standards and that progress is being made to improve
the choice and nutritional quality of food in schools. In addition, they
say, there have been improvements made concerning young people's education
on the importance of healthy eating.
The research also states, however, that what is being learnt in the classroom
is not necessarily being reflected by young people's choices in the canteen.
Unhealthy options are still being favoured over the healthy food on offer
and the reports provide a clear signal that more must be done to encourage
healthy eating.
Welcoming the publications, schools minister Stephen Twigg said: "The
direction of travel in which the Government is moving to increase healthy
option choices at school mealtimes and to address the wider issues around
the health of our young people is the right one.”
Mr Twigg heralded the Healthy Living Blueprint which aims to offer a clear
statement of things that schools can do to encourage their pupils to adopt
healthy lifestyles.
Due to be published later this year it will set out what schools can do
to improve children's approach to food and drink and exercise, and show
how developing whole-school approaches to food can help bring about significant
improvements to the health of children.
The FSA's head of nutrition Tom Murray said: “Even when the food
on offer at lunchtimes meets nutritional standards, children are still
choosing meals high in fat, sugar and salt. The agency will be working
with the DfES and others involved in the provision of food in schools,
including parents and governors, to ensure that standards or school meals
are addressed within a whole-school approach aimed at improving the diets
of children.”
Dr Michael Nelson of Kings College London cautiously welcomed the new
policy as "a step in the right direction" but added that standards
“need to be rigorously formulated to ensure that the food choices
that pupils make at school accord more closely with the Balance or Good
Health, the Department of Health model for healthy eating.” |
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