Big Way Of Life

99 out of 100 children’s packed lunches are unhealthy, new research has revealed.

According to findings by the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, just 1.1 per cent of children's packed lunches meet nutritional standards for school meals.

The study looked at 1,300 lunchboxes of primary school children aged eight and nine, and found that sweets, crisps and sugary drinks were on the menu significantly more than healthy snacks such as fruit, vegetables and fruit juices.

Only one in 10 children had a portion of any vegetable. More than one in four (27 per cent) had lunches containing sweets, savoury snacks and sugary drinks, while four in 10 had sweets and snacks but no sugary drink.

Nutritional guidelines ban schools giving sweets, savoury snacks or artificially sweetened drinks for lunch but there are no rules for packed lunches.

About 3.5m children in the UK take packed lunches to school every day, which throws into question the government’s aim to improve the quality of school dinners.

The researchers, from the Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Leeds University said that although new standards for lunches had brought “drastic improvements”, these results were “poor”, and agreed that “most lunches contained restricted foods and drinks such as crisps and cakes.”

The School Food Trust, which promotes healthy eating, said it would be more beneficial for children if they had a school meal rather than a home-made packed lunch. "It highlights why buying a well-balanced school lunch is the most nutritious choice for children and young people," said its chief executive, Judy Hargadon.

She also said the trust would support any schools adopting a policy on healthy packed lunches.

To see the full Independent article, click here.