School Food Standards - Research Proposal Example

 School Food Standards Executive Summary Healthy nutrition must come early in a child’s developmental stage and adolescence to avert unwanted health outcomes that come inform of overweight, obesity and risky eating habits. Childhood is a crucial stage in life where physiological requirement for a variety of nutrients is considerably high to energy demands. It is necessary that all children receive a balanced diet high in nutrients to enhance proper growth and development at the same time preventing unhealthy food and eating habits. It is important to understand that lifestyle and eating patterns are caught early in life and progress into adulthood. Schools play an important role in shaping eating habits and the type of food children eat. They are considered paramount in influencing the diet and lifestyle since almost all children spend most of their time in schools. This makes schools important in preventing unhealthy eating habits and excessive consumption of unhealthy food. The advantage lies in the large numbers of children schools have. To ensure that there is a positive influence on the child welfare; schools must observe healthy eating nutrition policy and properly implement them. In this paper, the discussion focus on current nutrition issue policy and their development. Furthermore, the paper digs deep into policy implementation and evaluation finalizing with possible recommendations for future policy. A Summary of the School Food Policy This review will address the issues related to nutrition and school meals. This will be followed by the rationale for the current policy, how the policy came about as well as a brief summary of the policy. There is a consensus that nutritional policies for school food are needed and that dietary guidelines should be specified (Lang and Heasman 2004). The Health Survey for England revealed, between 1996 and 2006, a 5% increase in the number of children aged 2-10 were obese; resulting in more children showing signs of metabolic syndrome normally seen in adults (The British Medical Association (BMA) 2005). Evidence shows that poor dietary habits early on in life can impact health and disease in adult life, in particular “heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some forms of cancer”, as well as depression and low self-esteem (Weichselbaum and Buttriss 2011:2, BMA 2005). Therefore, it was identified that good quality school meals are needed to help avoid the consequences of poor diets in children, such as obesity, poor concentration, behaviour and attainment (Sorhaindo and Feinstein 2006). Not only can a poor diet lead to weight and health problems, it can influence nutrient deficiencies such as zinc, iodine, folate and iron which can cause impaired cognitive development (Lambert et al. 2004). Other nutrient deficiencies can weaken the immune system, making children vulnerable to illnesses, which in turn lead to more sick days from school resulting in poor academic performance (Sorhaindo and Feinstein 2006). The cause of obesity is made up of many factors including, individual, organizational and government policy factors such as, food consumption, school food and food labelling regulations; therefore, interventions should be multilevel addressing individual and policy-level factors (Butland et. al 2007). School meals contribute to a significant part of children’s diet, making up almost one-third of energy and nutrients consumed daily (Dalia et al. 2010). For many children, usually from low-income families, the school meal is the main meal of the day; therefore it is important that school meals are well balanced and nutritious (Food Standards Agency (FSA) 2007). A child’s growth and development is largely impacted by nutrition; good nutrition is vital to ensure optimal health and wellbeing (Weichselbaum and Buttriss 2011). School meals have long been recognized as a way to ensure children obtain sufficient nutrients in their diet (Passmore and Harris 2004). It was not until evidence materialized that school meals did not provide adequate nutrients to meet children’s nutritional needs that change was made (Nelson et al. 2005). A study by Whitmore (2005) found that children who ate a school lunch were more likely to be obese, concluding that improving school meals could decrease obesity. Data from the National diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) revealed that children of all ages were consuming high fat foods and not enough fruit and vegetables; as well as concerns that children were eating too much sugar which can negatively impact oral health and weight status (FSA 2006). This caused for concern over the content of school meals and as well as children’s food choices at home. School meals have been affected by inconsistent political guidance. In post-war Britain school meals operated according to nutritional guidelines, before these were removed under the Conservative government in 1980 (Lang et al. 2009). In 2001, nutritional standards were reintroduced to ensure the provision of healthy options at lunch time (Adamson et al. 2013). Surveys later showed that providing healthy options alone did not improve children’s eating habits as they were still making unhealthy choices (Nelson 2011). It was concluded that to ensure better food choices, food must be limited to only healthy options; however it was argued that children needed guidance on how to choose better options themselves (Nelson 2011). In 2005, Jamie Oliver’s “Feed Me Better Campaign” played a part in raising awareness of poor quality school food, which was thought to be contributing to the obesity epidemic (Oliver 2006). It was argued that there were helpful effects of the “Feed me Better Campaign” with improved “Key Stage 2 test scores in English and Sciences” (Belot and James 2009:17). Around the same time, the School Meals Review Panel (SMRP) (2005) produced the Turning the Tables: Transforming School Food report, which called for drastic changes in school food. This caused the Blair Government to take action, by commissioning the SMRP to work alongside a non-departmental public body, the Children’s Food Trust. Together they produced new recommendations and the Food based standards (FBS) (appendix 1) to improve school food which came into effect in 2006 over 3 years (appendix 2) (Nelson 2012). FBS apply to food and drink served across the school day (i.e. breakfast and vending machines) and NBS (appendix 3) apply to food and drink served at lunch. These standards coincide with the government’s healthy eating initiative, the eat well plate (appendix 4). Subsequently, the support was highly funded which is said to prove cost effective long term (Nelson 2012). A comprehensive school meals policy is required as an alternative to poor quality fast food. In the United Kingdom, there is a need to avoid an American model of food consumption, where 30 percent of public high schools offer fast food (Schlosser 2002). The standards aim to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, reduce the amount of total and saturated fat, sugar, salt and poor quality meat found in school lunches, and to improve healthier food choices inside and outside of school (Weichselbaum and Buttriss 2011). However, Traill et al. (2013) argue that although intervention may improve pupils’ food consumption behaviour with better nutritional habits being acquired during school time; it overlooks negative food habits that may occur outside the school. The recommendations for FBS and NBS are based on the dietary reference values (DRV) for energy and nutrients for children specific to primary and secondary schools (Weichselbaum and Buttriss 2011). The amount of energy, sodium and fibre provided in a school lunch was given a baseline of 30% of average total daily requirements. Fat and carbohydrates were set in line with the DRV expressed as a percentage of total energy provided in a meal. Due to concerns over nutrient deficiencies in children, it was decided that a school lunch should contain 40% of the DRV’s for these. There have been many changes in the provision of school food, with the main aim to improve nutritional adequacy to combat obesity, poor concentration, behaviour and attainment in children. There is a strong consensus that the government’s initiative to improve the nutrients in school meals will prove successful; given the improvements to educational attainment. Development and Implementation of School Food Policy In order to develop and implement a school food and nutrition policy various parties are involved. The policy becomes more fruitful when several representatives from the larger community take an active part its implementation. Pupils, teachers, parents, caterers, local retailers and school management as well as government representatives must be actively involved. Each individual has a role to play in dealing with the current nutritional and eating trends in schools for a healthy present and future for children. The unifying objectives for these parties must clearly outline the plan for attaining the desired outcomes of the School Food Policy. Coherent and consistent food policy nutritional messages are supposed to be inclusive of the school environment, the parents and the community. The messages cover critical elements of good nutrition, food safety and healthy eating habits. This will help children develop lifelong skills related to healthy nutrition, controlled eating habits and food safety and hygiene. There are five major steps in developing and implementing School food Policy. The initial step is to gather a core action group, followed by assessment of nutrition in schools, observing World health Organization (WHO) recommendations for healthy eating and active lifestyle for children as well as adolescents, designing action plan and finally implementing, monitoring and evaluating the action plan of the school food policy. Core Action Group; The success of School Food Policy relies on the collaborative action of many participants that created it. In as much as children are the most affected here, it is important to have a special team comprising of teachers, caterers, parents, school governing body, health professionals, local retailers and pupils themselves. This team has different levels of skills and knowledge enough to achieve the goals of the food policy. Once the team is formed, other chronological events can now be considered. This core group will be involved in each step of School food Policy. Assessment of Nutrition in the School Obtaining base line information requires a prior assessment of current nutrition and food status in every school. This is the principal action of the core team immediately after it is formed. During assessment, several aspects of food and nutrition are determined to address current policy issues in the school. Some of the things considered include the existing school policy on meals and snacks, the part of school curriculum with information concerning nutrition and food for children and the integration of child nutritional requirements in the school environment as well as the larger community. The team must also examine the attitudes towards school food among children not forgetting to look into eating patterns of children while at school. Both objective and subjective data is collected with the aid of teachers and pupils themselves. Seeking opinions on the existing situations and the possible changes from both pupils and teachers is another important aspect during assessment. The core team has a responsibility to ensure that all relevant stakeholders are assessed as a way of promoting the project both within and outside the school environment. Developing a School food and Nutrition Policy After the initial school assessment, the core action team comes up with a particular school food and nutrition policy largely derived from the base line information obtained. The policy covers the school nutrition, health services, school curriculum, immediate environment and the lager community. The team also must understand that the vast range of influences on school development prescribe the needs and hurdles encountered. Context and locality of the school greatly affects policy action prioritization. This also implies that the special interests and concerns of all stakeholders are considered during school food policy formulation to maximize on all available methods of designing and implementation. The chief role of school health Policy formulated is to ascertain that nutritional messages are consistently spread and mutually supported all over the school. School food policy is useful in promoting healthy living and help pupils in applying their knowledge by creating a suitable environment with feasible healthy options. However, it is equally important to understand that health promotion in schools is constantly changing due to various environmental and lifestyle alterations. This demands that the policy is given room for continuous adaptation. Developing Action Plan Once the school food policy is successfully formulated it becomes imperative to come up with clear action plan. There should be a definite rationale focused on enhancing the nutritional status of children. Secondly, a long-term vision is required to ensure that the policy is sustained with the aim of attaining maximum health benefit. The plan must house precise goals with feasible chronology and mileposts. Furthermore, the action plan must provide clear guidelines on how to design school diets for children; this affects the catering staff, teachers, guardians and parents. The action plan further briefs on how objectives of the school food policy will be met and outlines the active participants. Children, teachers, parents and the entire community are the main role players who determine the effectiveness of the school food policy. There is need to make the policy realistic, flexible, fits into school development plan and easy to implement. Action plan Implementation and Monitoring Policy monitoring and evaluation are aimed at assessing the progress of the action plan activities, determine effectiveness and efficiency of the coveted outcomes as well as expose needs for early intervention. After policy implementation, child health must be monitored through school nutrition and healthcare services to measure the level of success. Monitoring and evaluation promote transparency in the use of resources by illuminating the course of progress through identifying areas of weakness and strength in the policy implementation process. A lot of corrective information is gathered while monitoring and evaluating the school food policy. Both favourable and limiting factors not reflected in the initial plan of action are brought to the surface. Evaluation In Europe, thirty countries are currently implementing school Food policy with half-setting compulsory standards and other half-offering voluntary guidance. In all the countries promoting school food policy share some similarities in their policy objectives that include; enhancing child nutrition (97%).aiding children adopt healthy diet and living (94%) and preventing childhood obesity (88%). Snacks and lunch are the most frequently addressed meals at 90% of all school food policy. Major differences in food policy exist depending on the school policy and formulation procedure. Notably, the differences are more pronounced in the list of basic food, catering and dining facilities. In some school food policy, low-fat modes of food cooking are given priority along with the use of fruits, vegetables and wholegrain. Basing on research conducted, only countries with mandatory enforcement of School Food Policy have managed to control childhood obesity and promote healthy living in children and adolescents. The success lies in the strict implementation of the food policy with enough support from the stakeholders. Chances of children developing unhealthy eating habits in schools without Food Policy are high. This goes hand in hand with poor lifestyles and obesity dues to lack of proper professional dietary guidance. However, the success of school food policy is encouraging, children are noted to grow up shaping their eating habits and being sensitive about the type of food, they eat giving priority to nutritional standards. Recommendations Developing food policy is the very first step in ensuring healthy living and growth for school going children. Nevertheless, there is need to consider other factors that are augmentative to the policy and equally important. The government must ensure that schools afford healthy food and in sufficient amounts. It must be a requirement for all schools to adopt School food Policy to have a uniformed health pattern for all school-going children. Though children spend little time at home what they eat within that limited period may affect their well-being, this demands that parents must shoulder the responsibility of providing their children with healthy food alongside nutritional advice. Food sold in schools must meet quality standards with clearly labelled ingredients and their percentages. To strengthen school food policy, educative and promotive messages should also be put across media to enhance accessibility. Conclusion School food policy is one of the best means of ensuring that children stay and grow health by shaping the nutritional environment. Providing a balanced diet free of unhealthy ingredients is important in preventing childhood obesity, which can overextend into adulthood. Food policy summary helps in understanding the factors that have fuelled the need to have an effective school food policy. The development of current policy adds further weight on the importance of school food policy, all developmental stages that include creating a core action group, assessing school nutritional status, developing a suitable food policy, devising action plan, implementing, monitoring and evaluation. According to research conducted in schools with fully implemented food policy, it was found out that there was a better health outcome. The government plays an influential role by pronouncing School Food Policy mandatory. On the contrary, children in schools with no food policy are susceptible to unhealthy eating habits and obesity. Appendix 2: Time line of the initiation of food and nutrient based standards 2006 – Compulsory food based standards for school lunch 2007 - Food Based Standards for food other than lunch 2008 - Final food based standards and nutrient based standards for school lunch in primary schools 2009 - Final food based standards and nutrient based standards for school lunch in in secondary schools. 2011 - Further modifications of the standards put in place Appendix 3: Nutrient Based Standards for School Lunches from September 2008 for Primary Schools and September 2009 for Secondary and Special Schools Appendix 4: The Eat well Plate Source: Department of Health (www.dh.gov.uk). References Belot, M. and James, J., (2009). Healthy School Meals and Educational Outcomes, Institute for Economic and Social Research: Working Paper Series. Available from: [Accessed: 6th February 2015]. British Medical Association. (2005). Preventing childhood obesity. BMA, London. 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