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Home > 'Go for your life' Canteen Advisory Service > Why is it important for our kids to eat well?

Why is it important for our kids to eat well?

Growth
Bone health and development
Dental health - tooth development and prevention of caries
Weight management
Concentration, learning and mood
Development of food preferences, tastes and eating habits.

The incidence of overweight and obesity in children and young people in Australia has increased dramatically in recent years, with around 1 in 4 of our children being overweight or obese. This has both serious long and short term health consequences. Excess weight gain in children is usually a result of excess energy intake - eating too much food or the wrong type of food, combined with low energy expenditure – doing too little physical activity or being inactive for too much of the day.

Nutrition is particularly important in the childhood years, which are a time of rapid growth and development. Healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle, assists children to develop and grow to their potential, thus contributing to optimal educational outcomes and a healthy adult life. Furthermore, nutrition during childhood is also important in preventing lifestyle diseases such as overweight, obesity, dental disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and, in later life, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and a range of cancers. It has also been established that an overweight or obese child is more likely to remain overweight or obese in adulthood.

For many students who use the canteen regularly the food purchased there makes a significant contribution to their total food intake and nutrition. The school canteen or food service plays a positive role not only in the provision of nutritious food to children, but also in encouraging children to make healthy food choices, complementing the nutrition knowledge taught in the classroom and promoting a school culture of healthy eating that can extend into the wider family and community

A canteen that provides and promotes healthy foods can:

Reinforce the importance of healthy eating.
Provide another environment for learning about healthy eating at school.
Complement school nutrition lessons.
Provide children with consistent messages about food and drinks, nutrition and their relationship to health.
Contribute to healthy eating patterns in children.
Reassure parents of the quality of foods and beverages provided by schools.
Promotes healthy eating habits to the wider school community.

Acknowledgement

This information has been sourced from Nutrition Australia.

Last updated: 12/11/2008

'Go for your life' Infoline - 1300 73 98 99