Hot on HuffPost Parents:
Zoe Armstrong: Five Ways to Fake a Break and Avoid Parenting Burnout
How To Help Victims Of The Tornado
Lunchboxes Need a Healthy Makeover, Study Shows
Filed under: In The News, Nutrition: Big Kids, Research Reveals: Big Kids
Kids' lunches could use a boost if nutrition. Credit: sherimiya ♥, Flickr
School lunches are under attack again. But it's not what's being served in the cafeteria that's drawing fire, but what they are bringing from home. A recent study of lunchboxes found a staggering amount of junk food, according to a study done by University of Leeds in England. Most kids' in the study carry foods with high amounts of fat, sugar or salt that had been packed at home.Of the kids that packed a lunch, 82 percent brought cookies, sugary drinks, chips among other high calorie lunch options, according to the study. Researchers looked at 2,000 lunchboxes in the study. For years, school lunch programs have been under attack for serving foods with low nutritional values. The British study took a different tact, and is specifically targeted at lunches packed at home.
Professor Janet Cade, head of the Nutritional Epidemiology Group at Leeds said in a statement: "While we absolutely understand that many children prefer to take packed lunches to school, it is clear that they are not getting the same benefit from their midday meal as their classmates on school dinners. The poor quality of these meals could have serious implications for levels of childhood obesity and its long-term consequences."
While there is not a recent similar study looking at U.S. kids lunch boxes, nutrition expert Elisa Zied says there is some middle ground for parents.
I would say it's a mixed bag," Zied, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and author of Nutrition at Your Fingertips (2009) tells ParentDish.com "A lot of parents do pack more healthful options like whole wheat bread and fresh fruit." But there are social pressures in the lunch room and also kids who don't always like the healthy options, she says.
She says giving kids choices of lunch options helps get good food into their lunchbox and then into their mouths without trad
ing or wasting it. She packed turkey on whole wheat with a little mayo, grapes, 100 calorie pack of Gold Fish crackers and cookies for her two sons yesterday. They don't like hummus and she knows better than to send what they don't like.
"If you have a child who likes edamame and hummus and can tell friends that's her lunch choice, that's great," Zied says. :But if you try to force your child to take something healthy they don't like because it will backfire.
"it's a challenge, but remember it's one meal a day," Zied cautions."You have so many opportunities to feed them well during the week, this is five meals a week."
Related: Kids Bombarded with Internet Junk Food Ads
Your<span>Voice</span>
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
A Guide to Making a Healthy Packed Lunch
Have you ever wanted to get good at cooking for kids, adolescent health, adolescent nutrition. Well look no further than this informative video on A Guide To Making A Healthy Packed Lunch. Follow Videojug's professionals as they help you through this guide.
-
How to Pack a Litterless Lunch
Have you ever stopped to consider how much garbage you throw away after you've eaten lunch? The single-serving yogurt container, cookie wrappers, and drinking box all end up in a garbage can. Why not try packing a litterless lunch for you and the kids tomorrow?
Flo Busnello, Recycling Queen for the City shares her advice on preparing a litterless lunch that will fill your tummy, while leaving your garbage can empty.
-
How to Pack a Zero-Waste Lunch For Kids
Encinitas Station Certified Farmers' Market Director Carris Rhodes shows how to pack a zero-waste lunch for kids using ingredients and supplies from the market.
Credit: Daniel Woolfolk
-
Kids Say No Thanks In The Lunch Line
Children across the nation are protesting the new healthy food in their school's lunch line. Now Republicans are trying to save them with a 'No Hungry Kids Act.' Is that the solution? Nancy discusses with guests JoAnne Hammermaster, Keri Wilmot, Tod Howard and Jessica Donze Black.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
1-22-2010 @ 8:50PM
Heather said...Part of the problem is all the banned food due to allergies. My sons school has a no nut policy and no high allergy foods. So Not only can you nut send a PBand J but no almond butter, cashew, hazelnut butter, not even soy butter. Fruits are restricted to certain kinds it is rediculous. That leaves lunch meat and cheese sandwhiches or lunchable type things. They can take cookies because most are made in a peanut free factory here. All the kids suffer because of 3 kids in the entire school . Wouldn't it make more sense to have those 3 kids eat elsewhere so the rest of them can bring healthy things?
Reply
1-24-2010 @ 11:56PM
katy said...That is a great point! I really hope you put as much pressure on the school to make changes as the parents did who demanded a hypoallergenic lunch room. I believe we need to keep all of the kids healthy allergy or not!
1-25-2010 @ 1:08AM
Inadequate Wife said...How about the "no citrus" rule? No oranges, lemons or limes. No leftover chicken in a citrus-based sauce. No pre-cut apples spritzed with lemon to keep them from turning brown. No fruit salad with mandarin orange wedges.
Or the "no chocolate" rule? The person is allergic to cocoa powder, so no milk or dark chocolate. White chocolate is okay since it doesn't actually contain cocoa. Brownies must be "blondies", not regular chocolate.
Or the "no tomatoes" rule? I used to work with a woman who was allergic to tomatoes. The cafeteria served tomato-based items (pasta sauce, salad bar, etc) but no one in our department was "allowed" tomatoes at lunch, even if we ate only in the cafeteria. The woman was terrified we'd contaminate every surface when we returned from lunch.
As much as I have some sympathy for those suffering from allergies, it's becoming almost impossible to consume food in the presence of others. Even my kid's elementary school demands that the kids avoid peanut butter and other "no" foods at breakfast so they don't bring the allergens to school on their clothing.
1-24-2010 @ 7:08PM
mark jones said...a boost if nutrition? how about a boost of spelling?
Reply
1-26-2010 @ 2:10PM
Dora Rivas said...As President of the School Nutrition Association, I know this problem is not unique to the United Kingdom. In the United States, research also shows the average packed lunch fails to meet nutritional standards for meals provided under the National School Lunch Program. In fact, a recent study found home-packed lunches contain more sodium, less vitamin A, calcium, iron and fiber than school lunches and not enough calories to keep unhealthy snacking tendencies at bay (visit schoolnutrition.org/Content.aspx?id=13232). Parents should know that school lunches provide healthy food choices at affordable prices, and these meals include the fruits, vegetables and dairy that children need to succeed in school and at home.
Dora Rivas, RD, SNS
Reply