A health expert has warned that parents could be inadvertently shortening their children’s lives through poor packed lunch choices, expressing concerns over sugar and saturated fat contents in common meal options.
According to one study, as cited in The Sun newspaper, an estimated 98% of British school pack lunches are either too big, contain too much sugar or too much fat. Calls are now growing for parents to recognize that school-provided meals have come a long way in recent years.
The move away from packed lunches back to school dinners has been backed by Stephanie Wood, CEO of School Food Matters. Discussing the revelations, Wood added:
"Research from the University of Leeds confirms that packed lunches are no match for school meals. We believe the very best lunch available at school is a hot, nutritionally balanced school meal."
Ms Wood added that findings showed just 17% of youngsters' lunches contained vegetables and salad, and just 1.6% met the nutritional standards set for school meals.
Related - Ohio Boy Denied School Lunch On His Birthday Over Outstanding Balance:In fact, the current situation has become so serious that another expert has felt compelled to speak out. Paul Evans of School Health UK and the Obesity Society recently penned a letter to parents outlining his concerns, writing:
"Parents are shortening their children's lives and wasting hundreds of pounds a year by choosing packed lunches.
"Gone are the days of turkey dinosaurs and potato smileys (covered in salt), a frosted cake with pink custard and half a pint of extra-sugar squash.
"If all a child is given to eat is cakes or crisps and Fruit Shoots to drink that is what their body will use to grow."
As per The Sun, Evans is encouraging parents to make the switch, saying that school meals are not only more healthy than a packed choice, but they would also be an easy way for parents to save money.
So, will you be adhering to Evans' advice? Let us know in the comments section...
