CHILDREN spend a major part of their day at school. Therefore, the food offered by canteens makes a significant contribution to their normal growth.

Burgers, chips, soft drinks and confectioneries contain saturated fat and added sugar. Students who use the canteen regularly and purchase such greasy ingredients and sugary drinks gain weight and become obese.

Also, the daily intake of the wrong type of snacks leads to poor dental health in years to come. School tuck shops fail to abide by the basic rules of health and hygiene.

School administrations do not seem interested in watching over how canteens are being run. I appeal to the health and education departments to conduct extensive checks on canteen managers so that they provide healthier meals and drinks.

Furthermore, steps should be taken to make school managements follow a detailed guideline about the nutritional value of edibles, synthetic colours, artificial flavours, preservatives, additives and safe storage of food available in campus tuck shops.

Sidra Talha

Karachi

Published in Dawn December 7th , 2014