Simon Proven said:James Annan said:Am I the only person to think that this latest hysteria over school
food
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:is (almost) completely missing the point? Surely the recent
reduction in
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:exercise levels is a much more important factor. Hence the
relevance to
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:cycling, of course.
I believe that Part of the problem with poor diet is that
even if you can burn off the calories consumed, the quantity
of empty calories displaces other dietary inputs which are
necessary for good health.
That may be part of the problem, but I bet it is a small part. Few
children are actually suffering from malnutrition, they are just eating
too much (relative to exercise levels, of course).
To be fair, the govt announcement does mention exercise too. But from
listening to the vox pops on R5, the dominant thrust seemed to be that
schools just need to replace burgers and chips with tofu and aubergine
salads, and all will be well. But schools provide about 170 meals per
year, parents provide the other 900. If the latter are things like
"chicken" nuggets and chips, then the children will probably skive off
their tofu and aubergine salads anyway and pop out to the chippy
instead.
I bet that enforcing a no stopping zone within half a mile of the
school
gate and installing some decent cycle parking would do far more for the
health of the pupils than any LEA's idea of "healthy eating" on a
school
budget - which would probably do little more than put the kids off
healthy
food for life.
James