News

'Lunch time Lockdown' Suggestion Thrown Out

Thursday October 18 2012

A SUGGESTION to add a 'lunchtime lockdown' in schools in a bid to combat rising obesity rates has been dismissed by the council.

The idea was to stop school children snacking on junk food by adding in a stay on site policy on breaks and lunchtimes.

Other councils and primary care trusts in South Yorkshire are campaigning for secondary schools to ban pupils from leaving the premises.

But, in Barnsley - where two in five youngsters are classed as obese - the council said it had 'no specific jurisdiction' over whether pupils stay on site at lunchtime.

Claire Rick is a spokesman for the School Food Trust, said: "Children often miss out when they can go off-site for lunch, because evidence shows school meals are typically healthier than the food pupils bring into school themselves.

"Parents are behind this too as nine out of ten tell us they think schools should adopt a 'stay-on-site policy' at lunchtime, with many also agreeing pupils would eat more healthily if they weren't allowed to leave school at lunch."

A council spokesman said those schools not accessing the on-site service would be encouraged to do so.

"The local authority catering service provides nutritionally analysed menu choices in line with food-based and nutrient legislation," he said.

"In Barnsley 70 per cent of schools purchase from the local authority catering service, 81 per cent primary and 22 per cent secondary."

Reply Posted by Beth on Thursday October 18 2012 at 12:49

If kids - and adults - stopped eating grain based foods and dairy foods the obesity problem wouldn't exist, but we are told that these two things are good for us when in fact eating them triggers the insulin response and insulin is what keeps the body fat. Ask any diabetic nurse!
And for information, for the purposes of this comment, grain = wheat, oats, barley, ANY cereals, corn, potatoes, rice, couscous, bulghur wheat, cracked wheat, baked beans, all processed SUGAR of and kind, and white potatoes in all their forms.

Reply Posted by Craig on Thursday October 18 2012 at 13:28

Come on then Beth, give me an example of acceptable lunches that do not include those ingredients? While you're at it, give me a list of food we can eat over the month that doesn't include these ingredients and that will let a family of 4 live on a budget of £70 a week for the grocery shop. You have to live in the real world. Everything (OK, MOSTLY everything) is OK in moderation. Silly comments like yours are just scare mongering and patronising. Insulin does the following - removes glucose from your blood and enables your body's cells to use glucose (which you need for energy). Yes, too many carbs (for example) means that insulin creation is stimulated, but that doesn't necessarily mean you will stay fat. Like I said, moderation is the key.

On a related note, I can guarantee the food my daughter takes in her packed lunch is better for her than school meals that cost no more than 75p to produce!

Reply Posted by sarah on Thursday October 18 2012 at 17:41

The obesity problem exsists because people eat too many takeaways sit in front of the telly/computer all day nothing to do with eating potatoes or drinking milk my kids take packed lunches to school also and i can absolutley state that they are healthier than school meals. They arent dripping with grease have very little salt and they enjoy what they eat.

Reply Posted by Aunt Hilder on Saturday October 20 2012 at 12:19

Beth dear, do you think That tI could have a carrot today without risking life and limb? Following you advice I have cleared out my larder and that's all I have left!

Reply Posted by yvette on Monday October 22 2012 at 15:54

Sarah out of interest how old are your kids as mine are at comprehensive and i would agree with you that the choice they make is the most unhealthy, however i am a school cook in primary and we but a gut (excuse the pun) to ensure the menu is compliant with the nutrition based standards..the use of salt has only just been reintroduced and anything that can be cooked with fat is being done in fact the only time we use oil is on chip day that is once a week maybe time would be better spent to complain to the school or their school meals people as they are the ones to change it

Add new comment

Your email address will not be visible to other users of the website when you leave a comment.