Canteen meals spread obesity among private school students

Parents of students in private schools complained that unhealthy meals have now topped the menus in school cafeterias, despite the existence of health requirements and instructions prohibiting the sale of foods saturated with fats and oils inside schools, which has resulted in an increase in the rates of obesity, diabetes, thinness, and tooth decay among students. Students, and demanded a review of the meals provided by school canteens for students, updating the currently applied food lists, and organizing awareness programs for school staff about the importance of healthy food for students.

Parents of students in different educational stages, Walid Safi, Muhammad Shehata, Maryam Nouh, and Suha Shukri, confirmed that the spread of obesity among school children has become a tangible phenomenon in recent years, pointing out that schools still sell unhealthy meals and foods in their canteens, which contribute to weight gain. As a result of it containing fats or sugars, which children greatly prefer, which makes them accept to eat it without awareness of the consequences. While the mothers of students, Magda Darwish, Mona Ahmed, Radwa Musa, and Amira Muhammad, indicated that their children’s school canteens only sell pizza, pasta, biryani, pies, manakish, and grape leaves, in addition to canned juices. The mothers saw that the students were buying these foods at the expense of foods prepared at home.

The mothers stressed the need to reconsider the work of some private school canteens, specify healthy meals that suit each age stage, and develop a new mechanism for suppliers to protect students from the harm of some food commodities that are not recommended for circulation within schools.

The students' families called for organizing awareness campaigns in schools by health, educational and community agencies, to raise awareness of the importance of healthy food, and to work to combat obesity, which has spread among many children.

While nutritionist Sherine Jalal indicated that the cases of children she receives are divided between cases suffering from obesity and overweight, or poor growth and underweight, and she attributed the reason in both cases to malnutrition, as eating unhealthy foods filled with sugars or fats leads to weight gain, This falls under the heading of “malnutrition.”

She warned against the child not getting a healthy breakfast, noting that ignoring a complete breakfast with nutritional components and replacing it with high-calorie ready-made foods causes the child to feel unfocused during the school day, and affects the student’s academic achievement, as his absorption decreases as a result of the body losing nutrients.

Doctors Jihad Ahmed, Nader Farraj, and Hala Sobeih also stressed the need for school canteens to provide a healthy nutritional diversity that meets the needs of students, and reduces the manifestations of malnutrition, or unhealthy nutrition that harms students, pointing out that the child’s failure to obtain good nutrition at the stage During the first stage of his life, it increases the possibility of him contracting diseases in the later stages of his life, resulting in a weakness in human resources in the future, and an increase in the cost of health insurance and treatment.

On the other hand, administrators and social workers in private schools confirmed that schools diversify the menu of food provided in the canteens in response to the students’ desire for the necessity of having different and varied foods, noting that the menu of available food includes fruits and vegetables in addition to fresh food that is made daily, in addition to that Baked goods and pastries must be prepared as healthy as possible.

They stressed the need for the family to cooperate in this aspect, and to take care of healthy food for children from a young age, and before they enter school, so that the student becomes accustomed to this type of food, and the sound eating behaviors are entrenched in them, and they avoid habits that harm public health, especially since students do not depend on school canteens. Only, many of them bring ready-made foods and sweets with them, which they buy from grocery stores and eat at school.

For its part, the Department of Education and Knowledge confirmed that private schools are obligated to provide healthy food options for students and employees, through the school canteen during the school day and extracurricular activities, and to develop a program to provide healthy food services that contain all nutritional elements for students and employees, while avoiding excessive consumption. For foods with low nutritional value, schools are expected to encourage a healthy lifestyle, through curricular education and extracurricular activities.

• Doctors: A healthy diet must be provided that meets the needs of students and reduces malnutrition.

School feeding policy

The Department of Education and Knowledge confirmed, in the “Private Schools Policies Guide,” that the process of providing food must always comply with the requirements of school canteen standards in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the requirements of the relevant health authorities, as these requirements are linked to the management of school canteen facilities and the health requirements of the school canteen. Nutrition and healthy food standards, food suppliers, and reporting of food-related complaints, including cases of food poisoning.

She pointed out that schools that provide food services through school canteens are obligated to prepare a nutrition and healthy food policy, and publish it to reach school employees, students, and parents. This policy must ensure commitment to encouraging students to acquire healthy eating habits, by supporting healthy eating practices among members of the school community.