Schools in England should be banned from giving pupils cakes or biscuits as part of their lunch because they contain so much sugar, food campaigners say. They want ministers to overhaul the rules that guide schools on the nutritional content of the meals they serve to outlaw such sugary snacks.
Who are these fun sponges?
The call has come from Action on Sugar, a group of nutritionists and other health experts at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), who campaign on the health dangers of too much sugar.
Oh. Of course.
At the moment schools are allowed under the school food standards to give pupils desserts, cakes and biscuits as part of the lunch they receive on the premises. They include sweet treats that are either bought in or made from scratch, such as cakes, buns, pastries and scones.Action on Sugar made its plea after an analysis it undertook of the sugar content of dozens of cakes, chocolates and biscuits that have as much as 12 teaspoons in them. For example, Ritter Sport marzipan has 51g per packet while the same firm’s whole hazelnuts and white whole hazelnuts contain 44g, the equivalent of 11 teaspoonfuls. “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, a lecturer in public health nutrition at QMUL and Action on Sugar’s head of research and impact.
“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.”
Why are we employing foreigners in hijab to tell us what to eat?
It doesn't seem likely that any ordinary school can afford to dish out Ritter chocolate. Makes great propaganda to talk about sugar content but is self defeating.
ReplyDeleteIf it can, its budget needs looking at!
DeleteRitter Sport Marzipan? Really?
ReplyDeleteIt costs nearly £2.00 for the 100g bar (twice the size of a full-sized Mars Bar) and is surely unlikely to be found in a school cafeteria or intended for a single snack; it doesn’t reflect well on the academics concerned that they are using it to justify a blanket ban on cakes, biscuits and desserts.
In any case, as the ‘Sport’ indicates, Ritter chocolate bars were originally developed and marketed as a high-calorie energy boost for activity - they might as well have tested Kendall Mint Cake.
Incidentally, Queen Mary University rang an interesting bell:
http://fuelinjectedmoose.blogspot.com/2024/11/geology-no-longer-rocks.html
Are ALL our once-proud universities now hollowed out by the march of the progressives?
DeleteI think that the issue is less about puritanism and more about single issue obsessives. These are the kind of people who can be safely ignored. In a sane world they would be.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm not the best person to be talking about sugar as I'm a type 2 diabetic but, having read extensively on the subject, it's not sugar specifically that is the problem. Basically, if you are in the 25% of the population that is prone to T2 diabetes, then being even slightly overweight for any extended period can trigger it off. Rather than strict diet, I got my weight down by doing a lot of exercise. This meant that, for ten years or so, I kept it under control without requiring to take any meds.
'without taking any meds' - well, there's the real issue!
Delete