Radio 4's Food Programme today was about School Meals and I wasn't too impressed.

I listened to Radio 4's Food Programme about School Meals today. You too could listen to it - on the BBC iPlayer - by visiting this BBC webpage. There was a strong congratulatory air about the programme which in my opinion was not well-merited. Certainly it is great that children are no longer being fed the ghastly, appallingly unhealthy pretend food of some years ago (before Jamie Oliver's providential intervention), namely Turkey Twizzlers. And certainly it was good to hear of a school where children were growing vegetables and salad foods and eating them in their school meals. - That's excellent. - And it's good that some children are learning and practising cooking.

But what I was shocked, appalled and very disappointed to hear was that while children are learning to cook poached eggs (good), they are also cooking BACON AND SAUSAGES, and serving them and BACON SANDWICHES for school breakfasts...)o: - Salt is much more harmful to children than to adults. This is NOT healthy eating.

Bacon and sausages in particular, and bread also, are very high in SALT/SODIUM, and it is SALTY FOOD that is the main cause of child obesity and the increasing incidence of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease in children. Children already eat too much salty stuff. Schools should be discouraging them from eating salty meals and salty snacks, and definitely not encouraging them to think of bacon and sausages as healthy breakfast food. - Just because it's cooked, doesn't mean it's healthy Bacon and sausages are part of the over-salted processed food perversion that is compromising people's health around the world.

See Children and Obesity

Lose weight

and Sodium in foods

Pupils of Pontrhydfendigaid Primary School will no longer be able to have Marmite on toast at their breakfast club because of its high salt content

Marmite has been removed from the menu of a Welsh school breakfast club
Article from walesonline

Extracts:

"A SCHOOL has banned its pupils from eating Marmite because it says the spread contains too much salt.

The pupils at Pontrhydfendigaid Primary School in Cardiganshire, have been tucking into Marmite on toast at the school’s breakfast club since the start of term."

"A spokesman for the school said they had begun serving Marmite in the breakfast club, but it was now off the morning menu after the salt content was highlighted.

He said the food served at school breakfast clubs are based on Welsh Assembly Government guidelines – and Marmite is not included.

He said: “Breakfast clubs are intended to improve the health and concentration of children – to assist in the raising of standards of learning and attainment.

“But anything served must be healthy and nutritionally balanced.

“Marmite is not included on the list of items as it does include a high level of salt.""

This is a sensible move by the school. Children already have too high an intake of salt from eating cheese and crisps and other salty food/snacks and for food at school also to be highly salty would be very bad for the children's health. Indeed, the toast itself is high in salt! Salt and salty food are the primary cause of child obesity and many other health problems.

How to Lose weight!

Children and Obesity

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

See Sodium in foods and

Associated health conditions and

See FAT RETENTION