Schools weigh in on lunchbox

With increasing childhood obesity and lifestyle diseases, more city schools are focussing on what their students bring to eat

Every morning, R. Latha, a mother of two, goes through a list of recipes she has pinned on her refrigerator to decide what to pack in her daughter Aashana’s lunchbox.

“Schools have become stricter about the kind of food we pack for our children, so I have a list of healthy recipes for the week that I tick off daily,” she says.

With increased incidence of childhood obesity and lifestyle diseases, more schools are focussing on what is in their students’ lunchboxes.

According to Valli Subbiah, founder-director of Kid’s Central in Kotturpuram, childhood nutrition goes a long way in shaping a child’s future.

“We ensure children bring food that is both nutritious and varied,” she says. At her school, students eat lunch with the teacher monitoring their food.

Bhavani Kumar, founder of Patasala Montessori School, says, along with nutritious meals, her school insists students do not bring sweets. “We don’t allow junk food. Even on birthdays, we insist students bring only Indian sweets or home-baked cakes,” she says.

“The students take the sweets home so parents can gauge if their child is allergic to any kind of sweet and keep a check on their intake,” says Ms. Kumar.

According to nutritionist Meenakshi Bajaj, children’s palates are formed at a very young age, so it is important for parents to take care of what they eat. “If children are trained to drink skimmed milk and cut down on fatty food, they will be better equipped to eat healthy when they grow up,” she says.

“Another thing that parents should do is ensure their children eat a lot of multicoloured fruits and vegetables through the day,” says Ms. Bajaj. “If your children eat well and get adequate exercise, it is possible to give them the right framework to prevent lifestyle diseases.”

According to Ms. Latha, simply taking care of what her child eats in school has helped her family. “We have been including more millets and vegetables in our diet and cut down on sugar,” she says.

Diabetologist Vijay Viswanathan, who has been working with schools to develop better nutrition practices, says educating children on food makes a difference. “We have been conducting a study with a number of CBSE schools and have found a decrease in body mass index just by educating children,” he says.

Divya Viswanathan, founder of Four Lines preschool, however, says parents play a big role in a child’s nutrition. “Despite several rules, many parents still send a chocolate bar or a packet of chips to school. Unless parents cooperate, it is difficult for schools to ensure children eat better,” she says.