Why healthy school meals?

The importance of a healthy school meal has been well documented but here are a few reminders (1):

• 92% of children consume more saturated fat than is recommended, 86% too much sugar, 72% too much salt and 96% do not get enough fruit and vegetables.
• The UK now has the highest rate of obesity in Europe, and childhood obesity is rising at an alarming rate: one in three children are now overweight or obese. Obesity in children under 11 has risen by over 40% in ten years. If this trend continues, half of children will be obese or overweight by 2020.
• Obesity in childhood is likely to develop into obesity in adulthood, increasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes or cancer in later life.
• Alongside the problems associated with obesity, junk food diets are causing other health problems. For example, type 2 diabetes - once known as "late onset" and traditionally found in the over 40s - is increasingly found in adolescents.
• Junk food diets also have significant effects on children's behaviour, concentration, learning ability and mood. Children with diets lacking in essential vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids tend to perform worse academically, cannot concentrate and are more aggressive.

The financial implications of obesity were summed up by the recent Foresight project (2):

• By 2050, Foresight modeling indicates that 60% of adult men, 50% of adult women and about 25% of all children under 16 could be obese. Obesity increases the risk of a range of chronic diseases particularly type 2 diabetes, stroke and coronary heart disease and also cancer and arthritis. The financial impact on society attributable to obesity, at current prices, is estimated to become an additional £45.5 billion per year by 2050 with a sevenfold increase in NHS costs alone.

(1) Sustainweb Children's Food Campaign: November 2006 Statistics from The National Diet and Nutrition

(2) Foresight: Tackling Obesities: Future Choices: October 2007