Select Committee on Education and Employment Appendices to the Minutes of Evidence


APPENDIX 12

Memorandum from the British Medical Association

GENERAL COMMENTS

  The BMA welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Education Subcommittee's inquiry into school meals. We believe this addresses the important issue of nutritional standards which clearly have an impact on health promotion and disease prevention in school age children. Good nutrition and the need for a balanced diet, in addition to a programme of physical activity and also education on the dangers of tobacco and alcohol misuse etc, are vital for children's healthy development. Early education in these issues and ensuring good habits early on in life will lead to benefits for children now and in later life. It is therefore, important to ensure that there is a consistent approach throughout the country to nutritional standards in schools and that these standards are monitored on a regular basis. We also hope that the Food Standards Agency will, as suggested in the White Paper Saving Lives—Our Healthier Nation, provide independent and authoritative advice on all food safety and standards issues which should include advice on healthy eating for children and young people.

DIETARY NEEDS FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN

  School children should be offered a choice of healthy options for school meals with attention being paid to food allergies and the need to highlight or label menu items and ingredients accordingly, for example, products containing nuts. We also believe that recognition should be given to awareness of individual needs, for example, vegetarian diets and those with specific food and production requirements such as religious groups. Vending machines in schools are now a popular source of refreshments and this should be taken into account when drawing up nutritional guidelines.

  We believe that in order to improve health and reduce inequalities it would be advantageous to provide a safety net for children at nutritional risk, for example, free nursery and school milk, fruit and a balanced main meal. Studies have shown that inadequate nutrition can impair cognitive development and is associated with educational failures among impoverished children. Even temporary food shortages can produce adverse outcomes in developed as well as developing countries. (Brown and Sherman—Policy Implications of New Scientific Knowledge, Journal of Nutrition 1995). Research among older children has shown that there can be a nine point difference in IQ between children who were anaemic (average 102) and children who are iron replete (average 111). This disadvantage, the researchers calculate, is the equivalent of a grade difference at GCSE. (Ash and Nelson)

  The BMA also suggests that a government led strategy is needed not only for young children but also for infants to help prevent anaemia, dental caries and obesity, and that this should also involve parents. We emphasised in our response to the Government's consultation on the establishment of a Food Standards Agency that we envisage a role for this body, acting as a national focus for a nutrition strategy.

British Medical Association

5 October 1999


 
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