Many
of you will have read the latest on eating habits of today’s
youngsters – and Barnardo’s report is one of the first
to have actually asked the children themselves.
Burger
Boy, Sporty Girl: children and young peoples’ attitudes
towards food in school, lifts the lid on a nation of children
who accept junk food as the staple school diet and are influenced
in their food choices by the media and peer pressure.
Over
170 school age children were interviewed for the report, which
also includes the findings of a nutritionist from the Food Commission
looking at the nutritional value of school meals.
The
children and young people interviewed were well aware of the stereotypes
that affected their food choices. They all had an image of the
‘burger boy’ who ate high fat, fast foods and watched
TV all day. His counterpart was ‘sporty girl’ who
ate salads and was teacher’s pet. While the children didn’t
particularly want to conform to the stereotypes, they were strongly
aware of the expectation that they were supposed to prefer unhealthy
food.
The
notion that junk food is socially acceptable meant that the meals
many children ate during the school lunch breaks contained no
fresh fruit or vegetables. When children reached secondary school
the options were bleaker.
Annie
Seeley, nutritionist with the Food Commission explained: “From
our research the vast majority of foods on offer throughout the
day were unhealthy according to Government guidelines. If they
really want to help schools increase their healthy food provision
and reduce children’s access to unhealthy foods, they need
to implement stronger policies and guidelines backed up by funding.”
Fast
food is regularly on offer in secondary schools, and many also
have vending machines selling soft drinks, crisps, chocolate and
other snacks. And unlike a generation ago, where school meals
were paid for in advance by parents, today’s schoolchildren
have money in their pockets to make the choices for themselves.
You
can understand the temptation to succumb. Here are just some of
the comments from children interviewed.
• “I normally have chips, fish, pop, chocolate and
crisps. I eat about six bags of crisps a day just because they
are there for us.” (14-year-old)
• “There are thousands of crisps in the canteen and
we’re kids, kids don’t usually like healthy food.”
(14-year-old)
Now
Barnardo’s is calling for vending machines selling sugary
and fatty foods and fizzy drinks to be phased out of schools in
the UK. It also wants the DFES to review schools funding so that
they are not reliant on sponsorship from manufacturers of unhealthy
foods.
The
complete report can be found at www.barnardos.org.uk.
Nutritional guidelines for school meals have been published by
the Caroline Walker Trust and are available at www.cwt.org.uk
Parents
who are already worried their child may be overweight –
or want to prevent them developing weight problems - may be interested
in a new book.
How
to Help Your Overweight Child by Karen Sullivan (Rodale/Pan
Macmillan £12.99) is a comprehensive, no-nonsense
approach to the subject. It offers clear advice on encouraging
children to enjoy food without going on a diet.
For
worried parents whose child has a podgy tummy, she explains clearly
the difference between ‘puppy fat’ and obesity, and
details the physiological development of both boys and girls.
She also has some great ideas to encourage faddy eaters to enjoy
fruit and veg, and looks at the issue of low self-esteem, comfort
eating and body image. A useful handbook.
