Nude food Nutrition experts urge parents to pack healthy food for their children

Despite harmful impacts of sugar most lunchboxes are packed with sweets and sugary drinks

ISLAMABAD: Nutrition experts on Thursday encouraged parents to pack healthy food options and send 'nude food' which means more parents are packing their children's bags with fresh fruit and vegetables and homemade goodness. Clinical nutritionist Dr Ikram Danish said that some parents are still packing their children's school lunchboxes with junk food, despite high-profile awareness campaigns on childhood obesity and guidance provided by consumer groups.



Experts stated that more than a quarter of children had a lunch box that contained sweets, savoury snacks such as crisps and a sugary drink, adding that another quarter had a similar lunch box without a sugary drink and fewer than one in ten had lunch boxes with none of these items. Less than half of the lunch boxes had foods with sufficient levels of vitamin A, foliate, iron and zinc. "One per cent of children's packed lunches met all the food-based school meal standards for school meals in England, evidence that the quality of food in children's packed lunches is poor,” he mentioned. Dr Ikram further stated, "now that nutrient-based standards are in place, parents can be sure that the average school lunch is offering the right mix of energy and 13 nutrients that children need so we're encouraging more families to give them a try."

He noted that "parents struggle, and there are many reasons why children do not have better quality lunches, including cost, peer pressure, convenience, time. Providing information to parents is a start,” Dr Ikram said. However, he added we do need to do more than provide information to parents to see a greater impact, such as improving school policies, reformulating products and reducing portions of snacks given to young children, for example, providing a small portion of crisps in a sealed container rather than the full bag. "When packing a lunch for your child or yourself, start with food that has been properly handled.”

He suggested that perishable foods must be kept cold or frozen at the grocery store and at home. Foods should never be left at room temperatures for more than two hours, or not more than an hour if the temperature is above 90 degrees. Keeping your children healthy so they are better able to learn in school is something that all parents need to keep in mind. Child Expert Huma Baki advised, when packing a school lunch, it is important to consider how the lunch will be kept cool to prevent foods and drinks from spoiling. If food is not stored properly, bacteria in the food can grow and make your children sick. For this reason it is essential to keep school lunches cool. Lunches kept in children's school bags all day are likely to get warm, and foods such as meat or cheese sandwiches, milk, cheese and yoghurt must be kept cool, she added.



Dentists are pleading with parents to cut the amount of sugar in their children's lunch boxes. Dentists say some of the biggest culprits of early tooth decay are highly processed, sugary foods and drinks, and as families gear up for the new school year, they are urging them to cut the empty calories. Experts say apart from obesity and weight-related health problems such as type II diabetes, consuming too much sugar was linked to tooth decay because the bacteria that breaks down food and drinks in the mouth produced acids that erode the tooth enamel. Experts said parents should be extra wary of sweet sticky food that can get stuck in the grooves of the teeth and always provide water so that sugars and acids can be washed away.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 1^st, 2018.