The beans have been spilled - one thing pupils are not learning at school is good eating habits.
This was the finding of the South African Nutrition Expert Panel (Sanep), a body of dieticians and nutritionists sponsored by cereal manufacturer Kellogg's, which investigated what pupils are taking to eat at school.
A survey of four primary schools in Gauteng - Crawford Preparatory in Lonehill; Bosmont Primary in Bosmont; IR Griffith in Blairgowrie; and Inkonjane Primary in Meadowlands, Soweto - found that 63 percent of pupils were buying their school lunches.
Their most common purchases were sweets, crisps, cooldrinks, chocolates, meat pies and ice lollies.
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'63 percent of pupils were buying their school lunches' Nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits and vegetables, were hardly ever consumed and only 40 percent of pupils took a piece of fruit or fruit juice to school.
"Clearly these results do not reflect healthy eating patterns, and school tuckshop policies need to be reviewed," said Sanep member Salome Kruger, who led the study.
At Inkonjane Primary, 47 percent of the pupils bought food daily from vendors and spent an average of R5.
But the food that the pupils were eating were nutrient-low, fatty foods, sweets and crisps which have a tendency to raise blood sugar levels quickly at first, after which the sugar levels drop dramatically, often leaving the children feeling lazy and lethargic.
Heart Foundation dietician Shan Biesman-Simons pointed out: "Only a handful of schools offer healthy eating options.
'Only a handful of schools offer healthy eating options' The concern is that whatever children eat from the tuckshop becomes a staple rather than a once-off treat."
Tuckshops, however, tend to sell food which is popular and in demand among the children, said Marlinie Kotiah, a dietician and member of Sanep.
Therefore, she believed that there was a need to educate children about what to eat so that they could make informed choices.
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