Are we losing the battle of the bulge? Changing young people’s eating habits

1. Are we losing the battle of the bulge?Changing young people’s eating habits Judy Hargadon OBE Chief Executive Children's Food Trust

2. Behaviours to reduce obesity • Reduce intake of fat, especially saturated fat • Reduce intake of sugar • Control portion size • Eat at least five portions of fruit and veg a day • Establish three regular mealtimes each day • Reduce the number of snacks eaten • Do at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity activity per day • Reduce time spent in sedentary activity

3. Why introduce the standards • Evidence from national school food surveys in primary (2005) and secondary (2004) schools found • pupils were not making healthy choices at lunchtime • school meals did not meet their nutritional needs • Reduce diet-related inequalities • Address increase in prevalence of overweight and obesity amongst school children • Combat micronutrient deficiencies • Establish healthy eating habits • Improve behaviour and attainment

4. The standards • Food-based standards • Apply to provision not consumption • Apply to all food and drink provided by schools at • lunchtime • across the school day (including breakfast, mid-morning break, vending, after school clubs). • Define which foods: • must be provided • are restricted • are not permitted • Based on food categories, and not the nutrient profile of individual foods • Nutrient-based standards • Apply to school lunch provision only • Primary schools: school lunches only • Secondary schools: school lunch plus proportion of mid-morning break • Define for an average school lunch within a menu cycle: • Average energy content (~30% of total daily energy requirement) • Maximum limits for fat, saturated fat, NMES and sodium • Minimum limits for carbohydrate, protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals • Take into account the age and sex mix of pupils taking school meals

5. National school food surveys • Aims: • Measure food provision and consumption in a nationally representative sample of schools • Compare school lunches with packed lunches • Assess compliance with school food standards • Compare with previous surveys to understand impact of introduction of new school food standards • Primary schools (2009): • 139 schools; 6696 school lunch and 3481 packed lunch pupils • Secondary schools (2011): • 80 schools; 5969 school lunch and 1823 packed lunch pupils

6. Primary schools – percentage of food and drink provided

7. Change in secondary provision 2004 to 2011 The bars to the left of the y axis indicate a lower proportion of schools offering the item in 2011 compared with 2004.

8. Primary – changes in nutrient content since 2005

9. Secondary – changes in nutrient content since 2005

10. What next? • Still improvements needed to what we offer young people • Five a day is still a big challenge • Attract children and young people to eat the food • Stay on Site • Family service/ full meal v cafeteria • Safe space to sit • Time to eat • Good food to eat • Time to “play” • All eat school meal - reduce waste, social norm It takes time to reverse years of decline

11. Take up of school lunches, England, 2004-2005 to 2011-2012, by sector.