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Healthy Eating Week

BigJigs Healthy Eating Fish Set

A survey by the British Nutrition Foundation* to coincide with Healthy Eating Week has highlighted the need to educate our children about food and nutrition from an early age. While many of us live lives that are far removed from the origins of the food we eat, it should come as no surprise that a significant proportion of children do not know where the food on their plates or in their play kitchens comes from.

The widely reported headline findings from the BNF survey include:

- 29% of the primary school children surveyed think that cheese comes from plants.

- 18% of primary school children believe that fish fingers are made from chicken.

- 10% of secondary school children think that tomatoes are grown under the ground.

On a more positive note, 64% of primary school children aged 5-8 years were able to correctly identify the eatwell plate when faced with four different images.

 

Eatwell Plate The Eatwell Plate. Source www.NHS.uk

 

On the other hand, only 45% of 8-11 year olds were able to recognise which of four pie charts was the best representation of the eatwell plate.

Most children (77% of primary and 88% of secondary) are aware that we should eat five or more portions of fruit and vegetables per day, but 67% of primary and 81% of secondary school children said that they ate four or less portions of fruit and veg on a daily basis. Interestingly, 40% of secondary school children did not know that frozen fruit and vegetables could count towards their five a day.

The BNF also discovered that a worrying number of school children miss breakfast. On the day of the survey:

-          8% of primary school children had not eaten breakfast. (6% said that in general they do not eat breakfast.)

-          24% of 11-14 year olds had missed breakfast. (19% miss breakfast in general.)

-          32% of 14-16 year olds also did not eat breakfast. (25% generally skip breakfast.)

While national guidelines recommend that children and adults eat at least two portions of fish per week, 16% of primary school children and 20% of secondary school children surveyed reported that they never eat fish. In fact, only 17% of all the children surveyed admitted that they eat fish twice per week.

 

Vegetarian Eatwell Plate The Vegetarian Eatwell Plate. Source www.youngveggie.org

 

With regard to cooking at home, the survey revealed that 17% of children of primary school age and 19% of secondary school children cook at home at least once per week. In the same age groups, 9% and 11% never cook at home. Children are clearly interested in and enthusiastic about cookery: 84% of primary and 73% of secondary school children would like to cook more and an overall average of 85% of children say that they enjoy cooking.

Millhouse Healthy Eating Kitchen and Market Stall Play kitchens offer plenty of scope for learning about cookery and nutrition.

 

The dislocation between schoolchildren and the food they eat was also highlighted by Roy Ballam, the Education Programme Manager at the BNF, who stated that “one in five (21 per cent) primary school children and 18 per cent of secondary school pupils told us that they have never visited a farm. This may go part way to explaining why over a third (34 per cent) of 5-8 year olds and 17 per cent of 8-11 year olds believe that pasta comes from animals.”

John Crane Tidlo Oldfield Farm It's amazing what you can learn from a toy farm.

 

Clearly children benefit from learning about food and nutrition at an early age. Parents and teachers can use farm toys, toy animals and play food to start discussions about where food comes from and healthy eating, as well as a full set of resources made available by the BNF here.

 

*The British Nutrition Foundation is an independent registered charity that has campaigned for and advocated “high quality, rigorous food and nutrition education in schools” for over 21 years. It aims to generate and communicate evidence based information about food and nutrition in a clear, accurate and accessible manner. Visit http://www.nutrition.org.uk/ for more information.

 

 

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