Chocolate and biscuits should be banned at school lunch, campaigners say
Schools in England should not be allowed to give pupils cakes and biscuits at lunch because of their high sugar content, food campaigners warn.
Action on Sugar, a group of nutritionists and other health experts at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) who raise awareness about the dangers of excessive sugar consumption, wants the government to completely revise the school food standards regarding the nutritional content of the meals served by placing a ban on such sweet treats and creating healthier food environments.
Currently, the school food standards allow schools to give children sweet treats like cakes, buns and scones that have been bought or made on-site.
In its survey, the charity found that 61% of cakes, 63% of chocolate confectionery and 44% of biscuits surveyed equalled or exceeded one-third – or 10g – of the daily sugar limit for children. Sainsbury's Taste the Difference gluten-free blueberry muffins contain 361 calories and 28.5g of sugar, or seven teaspoons; Ritter Sport marzipan has 51g per packet and its whole hazelnuts and white whole hazelnuts contain 44g, or 11 teaspoons.
'These findings reinforce the urgent need for a complete ban on cakes and biscuits currently permitted under the school food standards at lunchtime, as they are unlikely to align with current maximum sugar guidelines', said Dr Kawther Hashem, Action on Sugar’s head of research and impact and a lecturer in public health nutrition at QMUL.
'We have a duty to every child to make every school a sanctuary from unnecessary sugar, so they can grow up healthier, stronger and free from the risks of diet-related disease,' she continued.
What is the recommended sugar intake for a child?
According to the NHS:
Children aged 11 and older should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day (7 cubes)
Children aged 7 to 10 should have no more than 24g of free sugars a day (6 sugar cubes)
Children aged 4 to 6 should have no more than 19g of free sugars a day (5 sugar cubes)
There's no guideline limit for children under the age of 4, but it's recommended they avoid sugar-sweetened drinks and food with sugar added.
Action on Sugar found that a child who had a cake at lunch, a chocolate bar on the way home from school and two biscuits after dinner could consume up to three times the recommended daily intake of sugar for children 11 and over - nearly 96g of sugar, or 23 teaspoonfuls.
The campaign group commented: 'The school food standards may be driving children to exceed their daily sugar limits by allowing cakes and biscuits at lunchtime'. Ministers should also extend the sugar tax from soft drinks to other highly sugared products like confectionery, they added.
'We encourage all schools to promote healthy eating and provide nutritious food and drink, and recently launched new training for school governors to increase their understanding of School Food Standards and make sure children have access to nutritious food throughout the school day', a government spokesperson said.
'More widely, we are determined to create the healthiest generation of children in our history by shifting our focus from treatment to prevention, including by limiting school children’s access to fast food.'
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