Bad baby school lunch food fight

Food Fight!

Aaron Dyer; food styling: Jessie Damuck

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Health & Government

Food Fight!

The government recently stirred up controversy by changing school lunch requirements. It’s not the first time Americans have been up in arms over what’s on students’ trays. Why is the ongoing debate over cafeteria choices so heated—and how will the new rules affect you?

As You Read, Think About: Is it the government’s responsibility to help Americans live healthfully?

Turkey wrap or chicken tenders? Baby carrots or salad? You probably spend just moments selecting your lunch each day at school. But believe it or not, each option has already been given hundreds of hours of consideration. Everyone from your cafeteria staff to the U. S. Congress has analyzed and debated even the smallest details of school lunch menus—right down to that packet of ketchup you just squeezed onto your cheeseburger.

Why? The federal government has been in charge of public school lunches for more than 70 years, making sure American kids get enough to eat at school. It sets nutritional standards for exactly what and how much a school can dish out per meal, including limits on calories, fat, and sodium.

Turkey wrap or chicken tenders? Baby carrots or salad? You probably spend just moments choosing your lunch each day at school. But believe it or not, each option has already been given a lot of thought. Everyone from your cafeteria staff to the U.S. Congress has analyzed and debated even the smallest details of school lunch menus. That includes that packet of ketchup you just squeezed onto your cheeseburger.

Why? The federal government has been in charge of public school lunches for more than 70 years. It makes sure American kids get enough to eat at school. It sets nutritional standards for exactly what and how much a school can serve per meal. This includes limits on calories, fat, and sodium.

4,850,762,069

The total number of school lunches served in 2018 nationwide

_{SOURCE: USDA Food and Nutrition Service}

The rules affect nearly 100,000 schools and 30 million students nationwide. So whether you’re having a crispy fish sandwich in Rhode Island or green chile chicken tamales in Texas, your full meal is roughly the same in terms of calories and nutrition.

The guidelines are getting a remix this year, however. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is easing some requirements. For example, cafeterias can now serve bread and pasta made from white flour instead of only whole-grain bread and pasta. They also can offer 1 percent chocolate milk. Before, flavored milk had to be fat-free.

Why are school lunch rules changing, and what will those changes mean for you and your friends—besides possibly a new spin on cafeteria mac and cheese? It all depends on who you ask.

The rules affect nearly 100,000 schools and 30 million students nationwide. So whether you are having a crispy fish sandwich in Rhode Island or green chile chicken tamales in Texas, your full meal is about the same in terms of calories and nutrition.

But the guidelines are getting a remix this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is easing some requirements. Cafeterias can now serve bread and pasta made from white flour instead of only whole-grain bread and pasta. They also can offer 1 percent chocolate milk. Before, flavored milk had to be fat-free.

Why are school lunch rules changing? What will those changes mean for you and your friends, besides a possible new spin on cafeteria mac and cheese? It all depends on who you ask.

Shifting Diets

As U.S. culture has evolved, so have school lunches. In the 1940s, students ate liver loaf and green beans. By the 1990s, cafeterias had McDonald’s burgers and fries.

In 2010, health experts’ warnings about the nation’s growing obesity problem spurred the government to act. That year, Congress passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. That law required schools to serve more fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein (such as fish and skinless chicken) while cutting down on sodium.

At first, students complained about the new options. But researchers say they adapted quickly. One study found that after the law went into effect in 2012, middle schoolers began choosing more fruit, eating more of their vegetables, and finishing more of their lunches overall.

U.S. culture has evolved. At the same time, so have school lunches. In the 1940s, students ate liver loaf and green beans. By the 1990s, cafeterias had McDonald’s burgers and fries.

At first, students complained about the new options. But researchers say they adapted quickly. One study found that after the law went into effect in 2012, middle schoolers began to choose more fruit and eat more of their vegetables. They also were finishing more of their lunches.

Behind the Changes

Still, cafeterias continued to struggle with a decades-long problem: students throwing away food. Studies dating from as far back as the 1970s show that kids regularly trash more than 30 percent of their school lunches. Today, one school district in South Dakota, for example, reports that its students toss 65 percent of their fruits and vegetables. That’s a big reason the government decided to once again tweak the guidelines, according to Sonny Perdue, the secretary of the Department of Agriculture. Officials hope the new rules will appeal more to kids’ taste buds—and cut down on food waste.

The changes are also intended to address another trend that has troubled some health experts: a decline in how much milk kids drink. As U.S. milk consumption has decreased over time, fewer students are drinking milk at school. Health experts say milk is a good source of protein and calcium, nutrients that kids need for healthy development. The government is banking on 1 percent chocolate milk being more popular than nonfat milk—and, therefore, ending up on more lunch trays.

Making sure students get the most out of lunch is the goal, Perdue has said. “If kids are not eating what is being served, they are not benefiting, and food is being wasted,” he stated in 2017, announcing his plans for the school lunch menu changes.

But cafeterias still struggle with a decades-long problem: students throwing away food. Studies dating from as far back as the 1970s show that kids regularly trash more than 30 percent of their school lunches. Today, one school district in South Dakota reports that its students toss 65 percent of their fruits and vegetables. That is a big reason the government decided to once again tweak the guidelines, according to Sonny Perdue. He is the secretary of the Department of Agriculture. Officials hope the new rules will appeal more to kids’ taste buds and cut down on food waste.

The changes are also meant to address another trend that has troubled some health experts. Kids are drinking less milk. As U.S. milk consumption has gone down over time, fewer students are drinking milk at school. Health experts say milk is a good source of protein and calcium. Kids need those nutrients for healthy growth. The government is hoping that 1 percent chocolate milk will be more popular than nonfat milk. That way, milk would end up on more lunch trays.

Making sure students get the most out of lunch is the goal, Perdue has said. “If kids are not eating what is being served, they are not benefiting, and food is being wasted,” he said in 2017. He was announcing his plans for the school lunch menu changes.

Brain Food

After all, making sure kids get enough to eat was one of the key reasons the government got involved in school lunch (see "The Long, Strange History of U. S. School Lunch," above). During World War I (1914-18) and World War II (1939-1945), malnourishment limited the number of eligible soldiers.

U.S. leaders wanted to make sure that American kids grew up healthy in case they were needed in the military in the future. So in 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed the National School Lunch Act, which guaranteed that the federal government would help pay for public school meals. The law ensured that students in need would get at least one full meal a day. Today, the government still provides free or reduced-price breakfast and lunch for millions of students across the country. Over the years, the program has been expanded (see circle graphs, below).

The meals haven’t just helped students’ bodies—they’ve also helped their brains. Students who eat nutritious food show improvements in concentration, thinking skills, and energy. They also tend to behave better in class. (Students who eat fast food for lunch see drops in math and reading scores. )

After all, making sure kids get enough to eat was one of the key reasons the government got involved in school lunch (see “The Long, Strange History of U.S. School Lunch,” above). During World War I (1914-18) and World War II (1939-1945), malnourishment limited the number of eligible soldiers.

U.S. leaders wanted to make sure that American kids grew up healthy in case they were needed in the military in the future. That is why President Harry S. Truman signed the National School Lunch Act in 1946. The law guaranteed that the federal government would help pay for public school meals. It also ensured that students in need would get at least one full meal a day. The government still provides free or reduced-price breakfast and lunch for millions of students across the country today. The program has been expanded over the years (see the “Share of Lunches That Are Free” circle graphs, below).

The meals have not just helped students’ bodies. They have also helped their brains. Students who eat nutritious food show improvements in concentration, thinking skills, and energy. They also tend to behave better in class. (Students who eat fast food for lunch see drops in math and reading scores.)

What U.S. Schools Are Dishing Up

_{* Data are preliminary}

_{SOURCE: USDA Food and Nutrition Service}

Keeping It Healthy

But filling students’ stomachs isn’t enough, say critics of the new school food rules. Students who buy school lunch every day get more than one-third of their daily calories in the cafeteria. Some experts say the government has a responsibility to make sure those calories are beneficial to students’ overall health. These latest changes don’t do that, critics say.

The American Heart Association (AHA), for one, has spoken out against the new rules. “When it comes to our children’s health, there should be no ‘flexibility,’” AHA Chief Executive Officer Nancy Brown and her colleagues wrote last December in a statement.

But filling students’ stomachs is not enough, say critics of the new school food rules. Students who buy school lunch every day get more than one-third of their daily calories in the cafeteria. Some experts say the government has a responsibility to make sure those calories are beneficial to students’ overall health. Critics say these latest changes do not do that.

The American Heart Association (AHA) has spoken out against the new rules. “When it comes to our children’s health, there should be no ‘flexibility,’” AHA Chief Executive Officer Nancy Brown and her colleagues wrote last December in a statement.

600-700

The number of calories a middle school lunch must contain

_{SOURCE: U.S. Department of Agriculture}

Brown and others point to childhood obesity rates, which have more than tripled in the U.S. since the 1970s. Today, one in five American kids ages 12 to 19 are dangerously overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those kids are at greater risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other conditions.

Obesity disproportionately affects kids from low-income families—students who are already most likely to be relying on schools for breakfast and lunch five days a week. Those kids may not have access to nutritious food at home.

The good news: The increase in childhood obesity rates has slowed in recent years, with some states reporting declines. But the new standards might undermine that progress, some experts warn.

Brown and others point to childhood obesity rates. These numbers have more than tripled in the U.S. since the 1970s. One in five American kids ages 12 to 19 are extremely overweight today. That is according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those kids are at greater risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other conditions.

Obesity disproportionately affects kids from low-income families. These students are already most likely to be relying on schools for breakfast and lunch five days a week. They may not have access to nutritious food at home.

There is good news: The increase in childhood obesity rates has slowed in recent years. Some states are reporting declines. But experts warn that the new standards might undermine that progress.

Finding Balance

For all the debate, the changes won’t affect many school cafeterias, predicts Gay M. Anderson. She’s the president of the School Nutrition Association, which represents cafeteria workers nationwide.

Schools aren’t likely to get rid of healthier options if kids are eating them, Anderson says. Also, even though white bread and 1 percent chocolate milk are now allowed, nutrition directors may have trouble fitting them into the menu while still meeting calorie, fat, and sodium limits, which have stayed the same.

Still, some schools may now serve white pasta, flour tortillas, or white rice instead of the once-required whole-grain versions. That’s not necessarily bad—at least students will eat more of the food, Anderson says. Plus, some experts say, serving flavored 1 percent milk again could help boost milk consumption.

In the end, Anderson says, it’s all about balance. “We’re trying to find a happy, healthy medium for our students,” she explains. “We want the food in their bellies rather than going into the garbage can.”

For all the debate, the changes will not affect many school cafeterias, predicts Gay M. Anderson. She is the president of the School Nutrition Association. It represents cafeteria workers nationwide.

Schools are not likely to get rid of healthier options if kids are eating them, Anderson says. Also, even though white bread and 1 percent chocolate milk are now allowed, nutrition directors may have trouble fitting them into the menu while still meeting calorie, fat, and sodium limits. Those amounts have stayed the same.

Some schools may now serve white pasta, flour tortillas, or white rice instead of the once-required whole-grain versions. That is not necessarily bad. At least students will eat more of the food, Anderson says. Some experts say that serving flavored 1 percent milk again could help boost milk consumption.

Anderson says it is all about balance in the end. “We’re trying to find a happy, healthy medium for our students,” she explains. “We want the food in their bellies rather than going into the garbage can.”

Write About It! Are the new standards for school lunches a good idea? Find at least three facts or details from the story to support your opinion, and conduct additional research online. Then write an argument essay promoting your point of view.

Lunches Around the World

These photos from What’s for Lunch? How Schoolchildren Eat Around the World show what other kids dine on.

Japan
In Tokyo, students chow down on grilled sardines or other fish, plus rice and miso soup for kyushoku [kai-u-shoh-kyoo], Japanese for “school lunch.”

Japan
In Tokyo, students chow down on grilled sardines or other fish, plus rice and miso soup for kyushoku [kai-u-shoh-kyoo], Japanese for “school lunch. ”

Peru
School ends early in farming communities outside Cuzco so kids can scarf down quinoa soup and roasted guinea pig at home before tending to crops.

Russia
In Dubna, students fill up on beet soup, grilled beef, rye bread, and kasha (toasted buckwheat). They wash it down with compote, a fruit drink.

_{Yvonne Duivenvoorden (All Images)}

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Depression Diet Foods That Help Fight It

Medically Reviewed by Smitha Bhandari, MD on November 11, 2021

It’s a good source of vitamin D. If you have very low levels of this nutrient in your body, that can sometimes cause depression. One Norwegian study found that people who took a vitamin D supplement were less depressed a year later than those who didn’t. Don’t like milk? Boost the D in your diet with enriched cereals and juices, and canned fish.

The traditional Thanksgiving bird has the protein building-block tryptophan, which your body uses to make serotonin. That's a brain chemical that plays a key role in depression, researchers say. In fact, some antidepressant drugs work by targeting the way your brain uses serotonin. You can get the same mood-boosting effect from chicken and soybeans.

This snack is rich in selenium, which helps protect your body from tiny, damaging particles called free radicals. One study found that young people who didn’t have enough of this nutrient in their diets were more likely to be depressed. The researchers couldn’t say that low selenium caused depression, though. Just one Brazil nut has almost half your daily requirement of the mineral so be careful to limit how many you eat. Other foods with this mineral include brown rice, lean beef, sunflower seeds, and seafood.

They’re full of beta-carotene, which you can also get from pumpkin, spinach, sweet potatoes, and cantaloupe. Studies have linked this nutrient to lower levels of depression. There’s not enough evidence to say that it can prevent the disorder, but it can’t hurt to get more in your diet.

These seafood favorites are a good source of B-12. Some studies say that people with low levels of the vitamin are more likely to have depression. It may be that a lack of it causes a shortage of a substance called s-adenosylmethionine (SAM), which your brain needs to process other chemicals that affect your mood. If you’re looking for other B-12 foods, try lean beef, milk, and eggs.

A jolt of caffeine can be a pick-me-up that helps you feel more motivated. But if you have postpartum depression or panic disorder, some studies suggest that it might make your symptoms worse. Other researchers say a cup of joe can lower your risk of getting depression, though they’re not sure why.

They’re packed with folate, which your brain cells need to work well and which may help protect against depression. Food manufacturers in the U.S. add this vitamin, also known as B9, to enriched grains like pasta and rice. You can also get it from lentils, lima beans, and asparagus.

This and other fish like herring and tuna are high in polyunsaturated fats. Researchers think those can help you fight depression. One type of these fats, called omega-3 fatty acids, may help brain cells use chemicals that can affect your mood. A few small studies show that people who weren’t depressed had higher levels of omega-3s than those with the mood disorder.

It might seem like just the thing to take the edge off your worries or make you feel more social. But most of the time, it’s best if you drink wine, beer, and mixed drinks only in moderation. You might feel better in the moment, but heavy drinking can make depression symptoms worse over time, because alcohol makes your brain less active. It also can make antidepressant medications less effective.

It may be fast and filling, but these processed foods can be bad news for your mood. Scientists have studied how diets high in sugar, simple carbohydrates, and fatty foods affect how you feel. Many found some link between these unhealthy eats and depression. Your best bet: a well-balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein.

IMAGES PROVIDED BY:

1) Getty Images

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U.S. Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database.

Owens, MJ. Clinical Chemistry, February 1994.

National Alliance on Mental Illness: "Mental Health Medications."

Hulsken, S. Nutrition Research Reviews, published online Oct. 18, 2013.

Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center.

Conner, TS. The Journal of Nutrition, published online Nov. 5, 2014.

NIH: “What is selenium and what does it do?”

Beydoun, MA. British Journal of Nutrition, published online July 31, 2012.

Rusconi, AC. Rivisti di Psichiatria, July-August 2014.

Wang, L. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, published online Sept. 2, 2015.

Qureshi, NA. Journal of Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, published online May 14, 2013.

Lin, PY. Biological Psychiatry, July 15, 2010.

Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids, November 2002.

Jorde, R. Journal of Internal Medicine, December, 2008.

Massachusetts Institutes of Technology Medical: "FAQs – Mental Health."

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Gangwisch, J. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, June 2015.

The child does not eat food from the school canteen - what to do? | Mel

A problem familiar to many parents: in kindergarten, the child ate almost everything, but refuses to eat dishes from the school canteen. It's not scary if the child goes home after school, but what if he stays for an extension? How and what should he eat all day? We deal with the food hygiene doctor from the Center for Hygiene Education of Rospotrebnadzor Alexander Gavrilin.

Question. The child goes to the extension program, but almost does not eat food from the school canteen - like many of his other classmates. But then what to feed him all day? Can the school help warm up the food he takes with him in the lunch box? And if he eats hot only 2 times a day - in the morning at home for breakfast and in the evening at home for dinner - and snacking on yogurt, fruits, cookies all day long is not harmful?

Answer. Optimal diet for schoolchildren: three main meals with a hot dish and at least two additional meals (lunch, afternoon snack). If an additional meal is food at night, then this implies that the child must receive it at least two hours before bedtime.

The first and foremost thing is breakfast at home. It has long been scientifically proven that after a full breakfast, people do not overeat even during the day, and this is especially important for a child, given the stress he experiences in the learning process. Meals should be distributed taking into account the schedule of classes at school and additional classes. Approaches should be individual and flexible.

Breakfast should be heavy, with the presence of protein sources (eggs, cottage cheese and other dairy products). Include meat and fish dishes in lunch and dinner. Vegetable dishes (for example, salads, vegetable side dishes and soups, fresh vegetables) should be offered 2-3 times a day.

A healthy diet requires the presence of protein products: meat, fish, dairy products. Vegetables and fruits must be present - fresh and in any other form, grain products, bakery products - best of all from second-grade wholemeal flour. Drying and nuts cannot be the basis of the diet. Therefore, I am for hot meals at least three times a day.

If the child is in school for more than 4 hours, they must be provided with hot meals. The number of meals will depend on the duration and organization of the educational process. Children's meals are organized through the implementation at the school of the main menu, which includes hot meals, additional meals, as well as individual menus for children in need of medical and dietary nutrition. The exclusion of hot meals from the menu, as well as its replacement with buffet products, is not allowed.

The school menu is approved by the head of the educational organization, taking into account the sanitary rules for public catering, the principles of healthy eating, which are legally enshrined in the 29th Federal Law, and the norms of physiological needs for energy and nutrients for children. In addition to the main menu, children should also have the possibility of additional nutrition, for example, through buffet products. But, of course, replacing the main hot dishes with flour products is unacceptable.

Before each serving of food in the school canteen, a marriage is carried out, that is, tasting, evaluation of taste and temperature indicators. Everything is documented and recorded in a separate marriage journal daily.

Bringing food from home to school is not prohibited by the rules

Just explain to the child that you do not need to share this food: his friend or girlfriend may have an allergy. There is no mandatory requirement to provide students with the opportunity to warm up the dishes they brought with them in the sanitary rules. The possibility of such an option should be discussed with the school administration.

The parent has the right to be aware of the school menu. It can also influence its compilation. Today it is a normal practice, together with the school administration and the advice of the parent community, to improve the quality of food, including making changes to the menu so that they meet all the necessary sanitary and hygienic requirements and at the same time are pleasant for children and parents.

I have visited a large number of school catering departments - there are very different situations. If it really doesn’t taste good, then first of all you need to work with the school administration. Another problem is the lack of adherence to the principles of healthy eating in the family. The child must be taught to eat right at preschool age. This can be helped by special training (educational) programs approved by Rospotrebnadzor as part of the federal project "Strengthening Public Health".

Ask your question to Mel, and the editors will find someone who can answer it. Write to our social networks - we read all messages on the pages on Facebook, VKontakte and Odnoklassniki. You can also write to us on Instagram. Answers will be published in order of priority in the "Question - Answer" section. By the way, we do not disclose names, so questions can be anything (feel free!).

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Cover image: ad-foto / Shutterstock

Important rules for healthy eating

Schoolchildren's nutrition: important rules

All mothers without exception worry about their children and their food at school. After all, schoolchildren spend most of the day in educational institutions. All mothers ask themselves: are school lunches good, and does their child suffer from a lack of nutrients and vitamins obtained from canteen food? Or maybe it’s better to give the student homemade food with you? And what to give in this case?

School lunches and breakfasts are not only an important part of a child's daily diet, but also the basis of his physical and intellectual development.

School-age children expend an enormous amount of energy on learning and acquiring knowledge, learning and doing homework, running around and playing between classes.

Therefore, the need of their organisms for basic nutrients and additional sources of energy remains quite high and is determined by such physiological and biochemical features:

Accelerated growth and development.
Differentiation of various organs and systems ( in particular the central nervous system ).
Intensity of metabolic processes.

The most important aspect of children's nutrition is the established regime , which depends not on the whim of the child or his parents, but on the learning process and the workload of the baby.

Scientists of the Institute of Nutrition of the Academy of Medical Sciences have proven that the best digestibility of food is observed when it is taken 4 times.
With proper nutrition, food leaves the stomach after an average of 4 hours. Thus, the intervals between meals should be about 4 hours. These intervals provide the possibility of complete digestion in the child's stomach of previously taken food and the appearance of some feeling of hunger by the time of the next meal. More frequent meals are recommended only for physically weakened children and for medical reasons.
It is most expedient to adhere to approximately the following diet.

7.30-7.50 - breakfast , consisting of two courses: first porridge, eggs, cottage cheese, vegetables, potatoes; the second - coffee, milk, tea with milk, cocoa.
13.00-14.00 - lunch from two to three courses. The first is usually meat, vegetable or milk soup. A decoction of meat or vegetables is a strong stimulant of gastric juice, therefore, it contributes to better digestion and assimilation of the entire meal. The second course - the most nutritious part of the dinner, consists of fish or meat in various forms with a side dish of cereals or, better, vegetables. Lunch ends with sweets (compote, jelly, fruits, berries), which almost does not require digestive juices for its assimilation.
16.30 - afternoon snack, consisting of drinks (kefir, curdled milk, milk, coffee, tea with milk), flour products (bun, biscuits, cake, bagel) fruits, berries and sweets.
19.30-20.00 - dinner of two courses: first - cereals, casseroles, cottage cheese or egg dishes, cereal or vegetable cutlets and drink (young, tea, kefir).
Depending on the shift in which the student is engaged, his diet changes accordingly.

All schoolchildren have dinner at home 1. 5-2 hours before it. Dinner, taken just before bedtime, interferes with night's rest.
In order for the child's sleep to be calm and deep, for dinner it is necessary to give easily and quickly digestible dishes (dairy, vegetable). Meat, fish, beans, peas remain in the stomach for a relatively long time and have a stimulating effect on the nervous system, interfere with night sleep: children sleep poorly, restlessly.
Vegetable snacks (vinaigrettes, salads) are useful for children before meals. They contribute to the secretion of digestive juices, and therefore, stimulate the appetite and improve digestion. Spicy snacks containing a lot of pepper, horseradish, mustard, in the diet of children are undesirable, as they cause irritation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines.
Bitter vegetables - radish, garlic, onion - should be consumed in moderation. Parsley, dill, sorrel, fresh and dry mushrooms can be used as seasonings in the diet of children.
The daily amount of food for children aged 7 to 11 years is about 2. 5 kilograms, aged 11 to 15 years - from 2.5 to 2.8 kilograms, over 15 years - 2.8-3.0 kilograms .
What is the best way to distribute food throughout the day? Observations of the Institute of Nutrition of the Academy of Medical Sciences have shown that children are more willing to eat and food is better absorbed if it is distributed more or less evenly throughout the day. Approximately 25% of all food in terms of calories should be eaten at breakfast, 35% at lunch, 15% at afternoon tea and 25% at dinner.
The environment in which the child eats has a significant effect on appetite and the secretion of digestive juices. The table should be well served, the dishes are beautifully decorated.
Before each meal, children must by all means wash their hands, sit straight at the table, do not put their elbows on the table, and chew with their mouths closed. It is necessary to teach the student to properly use the cutlery, napkin.
It is strictly necessary to forbid children from reading books and other activities while eating, since little gastric juice is produced if food is inattentive. With insufficiency of digestive juices, food lingers for a long time, in the stomach, undergoes fermentation. This leads to irritation of the alimentary canal with subsequent inflammation of it.
Often it seems that the child has no time to eat, that he has activities that are more important and interesting. Unfortunately, it also happens that before leaving for school, food is postponed for the last minutes, so the food is eaten incompletely, hastily, without appetite.
The child should eat slowly, chewing food thoroughly. However, you should not delay the time spent at the table either. A calculation of the time spent in one of the boarding schools in Moscow showed that 15-20 minutes are enough for breakfast and dinner for schoolchildren, 20-25 minutes for lunch, and 5-8 minutes for an afternoon snack.
Particular attention of parents should be paid to the reception of hot breakfasts by children at school. Students are busy at school for 5-6 hours. During this period, they spend a lot of energy. According to the Nutrition Institute, this energy expenditure is about 600 calories. They can only be replenished with a high-calorie hot breakfast, and not with a sandwich or a bun eaten dry. If a child, being at school for 5-6 hours, does not take food, he becomes less attentive, gets tired quickly, and the perception of educational material decreases. In addition, long breaks in food intake adversely affect the functional state of the central nervous system and the whole organism (headache and dizziness begin, weakness, nausea, and abdominal pain appear).
Therefore, hot breakfasts for students at school are mandatory. They provide a longer preservation of the working capacity of students and have a beneficial effect on their physical development. Observations show that children eat more willingly in a group. Often a child eats poorly at home), and at school he eats breakfast with appetite.

Unfortunately, it is completely impossible to take into account the individual characteristics of each teenager. Therefore, children and their parents must do a lot in this direction themselves.

Breakfast at home

It is not uncommon for children to have a poor breakfast before school or not eat at all. This can be bad for their health. On the other hand, at this difficult age, it is impossible to forcefully solve the problem, and it is not worth it. How can a child get the full nutrition that he simply needs? Adults should observe the taste preferences of a teenager and try to offer the student something healthy and tasty for breakfast. Explain to him why it is so important to eat before school. Breakfast food should not be "heavy", oversaturated with fats. It can be fish, boiled egg or scrambled eggs, cutlet, cottage cheese, porridge. And, of course, some vegetables. You can supplement the menu with tea, cocoa with milk or juice.

Breakfast to go

You can take a sandwich with boiled meat or cheese to school. You can offer your child to take yogurt, bagels, pies, buns. If possible, you can cook cheesecakes, casseroles for your child. In autumn, apples, pears, cucumbers or carrots are especially good. A student can take juice, compote or tea with him in a carefully washed flask or bottle. It is very important to keep in mind that some foods can spoil quickly at room temperature. Meat products spoil especially quickly. Stale boiled sausage will only harm the stomach. This topic is especially relevant for the cold season, when heating is turned on in schools, and food spoils faster.

Hot lunch

"School sandwich" cannot replace a full meal. Therefore, it is important to explain to the child, especially if he stays after the lessons for the "extension", that it is very important and useful to eat "hot". If the child is in class until an hour or two, and then goes home, adults should make sure that a full meal is waiting for him there.

Home packaging

It is of great importance how the school breakfast is packaged and in what conditions the child will eat it. You can use plastic bowls or cling film. In vessels, food will not lose its primary form, it will not stain textbooks. On the other hand, breakfast packed in film is safer and more convenient from the point of view of food hygiene. It's no secret that students don't always wash their hands before eating. In such a package, you can bite a sandwich and not touch it, holding on only to the film. True, this does not mean that the child does not need to take care of the cleanliness of his hands. Parents should teach the student about the importance of personal hygiene for his health.

Diet

Many teenagers often have metabolic problems due to the restructuring of the whole organism and, as a result, problems with excess weight and skin condition. Sometimes these troubles seem insignificant to adults, but for the teenager himself they are very painful. It is important not to leave the child alone with these problems, especially since many of them are corrected with the help of a properly selected diet.