Middle-class children are more likely to eat junk foods in school than children who below to poor families, a new study confirms.
Pizzas, chips and sandwiches were more popular among better-off children and less well-off ones prefer eating vegetables and other healthier options. However, nine out of ten of those students receiving free school meals or those who below in poor families like freshly-prepared foods such as roast beef, mixed vegetables, peas and vegetarian curry because they are less likely to have them at home.
The results of the study were based on more than 2,600 children at secondary schools at the time when 28 percent of girls and 31 percent of boys are classed as overweight or obese due to poor diet and lack of exercise. The study has also shown an important link between what children eat and what food they would potentially prefer as adults.
A research by Sheffield University at two large Yorkshire secondary schools revealed richer children's taste for items like pasta, cheeses, pudding, chocolates and custards. Poorer children were more likely to choose nutritious foods such as fish and salads. Dr. Margo Barker, a senior lecturer in nutritional epidemiology at Sheffield University said the findings "seem to be evidence for those calling for the policy to extend free schools beyond those families of lowest income."
"Students receiving free school meals made nutritionally superior choices in the school canteen, although surveys show that their overall diet is lacking," she added. Lead study author Dr. Hanna Ensaff, from the university's Department of Oncology said "food preferences established in childhood persist into adult life with related consequences for long-term health." "The school food environment is an obvious public health intervention, particularly as children today seem to rely more on school food than decades ago," she said.
