Cape Town - With obesity and malnutrition on the increase among school children, the Western Cape Department of Education has developed a healthy eating guide for parents, teachers and tuck shops to help pupils make nutritious food choices.
The guide, “based on the latest expertise on healthy eating”, sets out how schools can develop a healthy food policy and, among other things, explains how to read food labels. It also provides parents with ideas for lunch boxes and snacks and gives food safety and hygiene guidelines.
The guide, which was developed over several years with teams of nutritional experts, says South African school children face nutritional challenges ranging from obesity to malnutrition, and schools could help to ensure the food provided on their grounds meet the standards of good nutrition for children.
In 2013, the Cape Argus reported that The South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey by the Human Sciences Research Council had revealed that there was a high prevalence of overweight or obesity among girls aged two to 14, at 16.5 percent (overweight) and seven percent (obese). This was significantly higher than boys at 11.5 percent (overweight) and about five percent (obese).
The guide recommends that the foods provided at schools should be a reflection of what children learn about healthy eating in the classroom.
Education MEC Debbie Schäfer says: “The Healthy Eating Guide aims to provide children with foods that promote health and learning. Foods that promote performance are those that help sustain energy levels, increase concentration, and positively impact on behaviour and learning.”
The guide says the need to ensure that school tuck shops and vendors provide nutritious food for children was a worldwide concern. “In more and more countries, states and communities what food can or can’t be sold to children is even becoming part of legislation,” it notes.
The Healthy Eating Guide is a partnership between the Western Cape Education Department, Woolworths and the Sports Science Institute of South Africa in association with dieticians Shelly Meltzer & Associates.
It will be made available as a free download on the Woolworths website, www.woolworths.co.za
Cape Argus