 |
|
Health
Education
Trust
|
 |
|
Health
Education
Trust
|
 |
| |
| |
|
 |
Key food areas for concern
|
|
Burger boy and sporty girl – what do children really think??
Barnardo’s, the UK’s leading children’s charity, carried out a two part study to discover children’s perception of food choices within schools and an analysis of the nutritional content of school meals and packed lunches.
18 groups of primary and secondary school children were asked their opinions on who would eat two types of meals – burger, chips, soft drinks, sweets and crisps, or rye bread with cottage cheese, tomato, milk, yoghurt and an apple. The children were asked questions including – what would this person be like? What clothes would they wear? What would their hobbies be? What were their family like?
The first picture was of the burger and chips, and replies from the children revealed interesting and consistent results; the person was definitely a boy, a very naughty, lazy and trouble making boy, who would of course be chubby, fat or overweight, who snacks on junk food and watches television regularly. His parents would also be fat and lazy, and perhaps drug dealers, unemployed or working in Burger King, and they would spend holidays together in a caravan, or with family in the UK.
Although the picture these children have painted of this ‘burger boy’ was of a lazy and naughty boy, most children said that they would eat the entire meal.
The second picture of the rye bread and fruit surprised children, with a 10-year-old girl stating that “you couldn’t really eat that ..... children eat fatty food”. The children could not relate to this person – they did not exist, unlike the ‘burger boy’ they did not know anyone who would consume these ‘healthy’ foods. They thought that this individual had to be a goody-goody, posh girl who never broke the rules, she would be very healthy, with a clear complexion and white teeth. She would also be very physically active, and be conscious about her appearance, and be concerned about her long term health. She would live in a posh house and have holidays in hot countries, although her friends would be very envious of her.
Most children stated that they would eat some parts of the ‘sporty girls’ meal e.g. the apple or the glass of milk, but not the whole meal!
It is clear from this report that children can see a relationship between consuming ‘healthy’ foods and being healthy, with some children understanding that this in turn improves long term health, body size and appearance. Although the children are aware of the benefits of healthy eating, the majority chose the unhealthier options due to a large amount of choice, peer pressure, children wanting to fit in and not be different from their peers, freedom to eat what they prefer at home with limited restriction from their parents, and the higher cost of healthier foods – some students commented that to buy a jacket potato with one filling was twice as expensive as burger and chips, and a bottle of water was also twice the cost of a can of coke.
HET tips:
Given these findings, is it any wonder the uptake on the ‘healthy option’ on any school menu is limited? So where to start to make a difference? Incorporate some aspects of the ‘sporty girls’ diet with the ‘burger boys’ diet, such as substituting the soft drink for the milk, adding a sliced tomato to the burger and finishing the meal off with an apple – this is still a burger meal, but don’t call it healthy!
Click here to view the full report.
|
Salt intake - A National Problem, but can it be easily rectified?
Overview
It has been well publicised that a high salt diet is ‘bad for you’, but there is much confusion about how much is too much, since many perceive their intake to be within normal limits. Salt is a very useful and necessary molecule that occurs naturally in various foods. Over consumption however may adversely affect our health, by contributing to raising blood pressure. High blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease, and stroke. Adjusting our salt intake is one aspect of our diet that can be relatively easily changed, in fact intakes have crept up over the years as a result of our increasing reliance on processed foods. Current concerns about salt stem from this and the Government is looking to the Food Industry to help reverse this trend. It must be remembered however, that reducing salt intake is only one aspect of our diet that needs some attention. A nutritionally balanced diet remains the number one aim.
WHAT IS A BALANCED DIET?
More than 75% of our salt intake is provided by processed foods as it is added by manufactures to increase/maintain shelf life, therefore it is necessary to target manufactures to reduce the salt content of foods as well as targeting consumers to make appropriate choices.
|
The Salt Diaries
1994 Salt Targets set
|
Recommended intakes are set to optimise public health. In 1994 the Government’s Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA) recommended reducing salt intake at population level from 9g/day by a third to 6g/day, this target has remained the same for a number of years. Unfortunately the recent National Dietary and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) on adults aged 18-64 years revealed that national average intakes have increased to 9.5g/day (11.0g/day for men and 8.1g/day for women). If the population’s salt intake was reduced to 6g/day then the national average blood pressure would be reduced, benefiting public health by reducing the risk, and occurrences of stroke and cardiovascular disease. There is a clear link between high salt intakes and blood pressure which is a particular concern for those who’s intake of salt is well above the average: some men are consuming 3.5 times the recommended 6g/day (21g/ day) and some women 2.5 times (15g/day), so efforts to reduce salt would be particularly beneficial for these individuals.
|
| 15th May 2003: New salt targets for children |
|
Achievable targets (not optimal intakes) for children were set by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in response to a report written by the Government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). Children, like adults, have a requirement for salt especially as they are still growing. However children’s intakes are very high due to the increasing consumption of high salt snacks, convenience foods, ready prepared meals and processed foods, which are eaten as part of a diet that is usually low in fruit and vegetables1. Children’s blood pressure can be affected at an early age, so it is important to ensure that their intake is on par with recommendations.
|
|
|
1 Gregory J et al. (2000) National Diet and Nutrition Survey: young people aged 4 to 18 years.
Volume 1: Findings. London: The Stationery Office.
|
| Salt Conversion Chart.
The salt content of a food product is usually displayed on the label under the nutritional analysis in terms of its sodium content rather than salt content (common salt is sodium chloride), which can be a little confusing. Therefore a conversion factor is needed to give the total salt content. This can be done by multiplying the amount of sodium in grams by 2.5 to give the value of salt. If you wanted to convert the other way; multiple the salt content by 0.4. To give you an idea of quantities 0.5g sodium/100g is a lot of salt and 0.1g sodium/100g is a little.
|
Conversion of salt to sodium
|
Sodium (grams)
|
Salt (grams)
|
|
0.2
|
0.5
|
|
0.5
|
1.25
|
|
0.7
|
1.75
|
|
1
|
2.5
|
|
1.2
|
3
|
|
1.5
|
3.75
|
|
1.7
|
4.25
|
|
2
|
5
|
|
2.4*
|
6*
|
* Target set by SACN for recommended daily intake for adults |
29th May 2003:
Salt minimisation in the public sector |
Some practical solutions to reducing salt intakes
|
Caterers within the public sector, i.e. industry, schools, hospitals and prisons were requested, by the government, to reduce the salt content of their meals. Actions have been taken in the past, with success, to reduce salt/sodium levels in various products, including bread and soup, however further reduction is needed. For information on recent reductions of the salt content of bread, visit
http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/.../saltinbread
|
- Don’t put salt on the table! As you will be less likely to put it on your food.
- Don’t add salt during cooking or at the table, try using different herbs and spices. This may be hard initially as your taste buds will be used to high levels of salt and anything less is registered via the brain as ‘not enough salt’. So a ‘weaning off’ period of 2-3 weeks is usual to allow your taste receptors to adjust and become more sensitive to salt again.
- Look at the nutritional information on packaging and choose the low salt varieties, which by law must contain 25% less salt than the standard product. This will be a saving, but if the standard product is very high in salt, even the lower salt version could still be high in salt! So don’t assume lower salt means no salt.
- Remember 75% of our salt intake is from processed foods, including bread and cereals.
- Try and prepare as much food as possible from basic ingredients (this can include frozen vegetables), limiting the consumption of pre-prepared products.
- Reduce your consumption of ready made meals, as over 80% of these can each provide some 40% of your daily salt quota. The portion sizes for ready-meals are usually rather small, so try and add fresh or frozen vegetables or a fresh salad to the meal as this will help ‘dilute’ the overall salt concentration of the meal, and add beneficial nutrients to your diet.
- Compare products, choosing the low salt/sodium option, and remember to times the sodium value by 2.5 for the salt content. (Click here for ‘salt conversion chart’).
- Regularly add various new fruits, vegetables, salads, seeds, nuts and other wholegrain foods to meals. These may not appeal at first because they are unfamiliar but repeated ‘trials’ will eventually result in a liking for a far wider range of foods by adults and children, so persevere!
Other useful ideas
Cooking
- Use herbs, spices, garlic, onions and peppers for extra flavour in place of salt.
- Lemon and lime juice adds an extra zing as well as being a potent source of vitamin C, a strong antioxidant.
- Try making your own stock/gravy from vegetable water, or use reduced salt varieties.
- Add fresh herbs during cooking, they give off a lovely aroma and taste wonderful. Try adding mint to new potatoes and peas, basil is a must for tomatoes and coriander complements a spicy dish. Try new herbs and incorporate your favourite into your cooking.
- Fresh herbs are also wonderful in salads, to add a new and exciting flavour.
- Other recipes for low salt meals are available on the CASH website
http://www.hyp.ac.uk/cash/recipe.htm.
Tinned goods
- Choose tuna in oil and drain excess oil instead of tuna in brine.
- Choose tinned products with no added salt.
- Drain and wash tinned vegetables where possible to remove excess salt.
Fast foods
Snacks
- Plain popcorn.
- Combine unsalted peanuts and raisins with salted to reduce their salt content. For a change add chopped apricots, other dried mixed fruits, or even small chunks of chocolate into a small box so that they can be eaten on the go.
- Dried fruit, which can be brought in small packets.
- Tinned and fresh fruit.
- Slices of carrots, cucumber, peppers and celery, perhaps with a low fat dip. Try using yellow peppers, they are very sweet.
- Wholegrain bread/toast and unsalted butter.
- Current bread.
Meat products
Plain meats are naturally low in salt, but salt is added during the processing of meat to produce meat products, such as sausages, bacon, cured meats and pies. You don’t have to stop eating your favourite meat products just because you are worried about the salt content. Lower salt varieties can be purchased so look at the packaging. Also don’t add salt during cooking and most important of all consider what you’re going to eat with your favourite meat product. A balanced meal needs a good serving of vegetables, salad and potato/rice/pasta/or bread alongside your meat option. Aim to have three quarters of your plate filled with these foods and one quarter for your meat.
|
February 2004:
Salt minimisation in industry |
The British Retail Consortium developed a salt minimisation project. In February 2004 food retailers promised to reduce the salt content of many of their own brand products, without compromising food safety or consumer acceptability.
This programme will be carried out over a period of five years, focusing on two products in the first year and five by the third. Upper limits of salt content will be set, along with other specific guidelines e.g. 4g of salt per sandwich serving, with 50% of all sandwiches containing no more than 2.4 grams. These guidelines will be reviewed yearly in response to changes in shelf life and consumers opinions.
It is anticipated that this programme will result in a 10-25% reduction in the nation’s salt intake. Although it must be noted that other measures are required, and we cannot rely on the food industry to reduce our salt intake for us, we can take positive action ourselves, today.
|
1st September 2004:
New insight into children’s school lunchboxes |
|
|
14th September 2004:
Massive Campaign to reduce national intakes |
|
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) launched a campaign to reduce the national intake of salt. The FSA revealed that consuming too much salt is a risk factor for high blood pressure, which causes or contributes to 170,000 deaths each year in England, and is thought to cost the National Health Service an estimated £840 million in prescriptions alone. They estimated that 26 million people consume more than the dietary recommended amount of 6g per day.
The FSA also revealed that the food industry is on track for reducing salt levels in processed food by 1g before the end of 2005.
The FSA have developed a webpage to help individuals learn about salt, and also contains practical advice on how to reduce levels of salt in our diet. Visit
http://www.salt.gov.uk
Review the whole FSA campaign on
http://www.food.gov.uk/news/.../saltcampaignews
|
|
|
|
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)
Various studies have been carried out to discover the implications of changing dietary intakes and the consequences it has on blood pressure.
The DASH study compared the consumption of a diet high in fruit, vegetables and low fat dairy products (the DASH diet) to a typical American diet (the control) to view the changes in blood pressure. The study of 412 men and women lasted 30 days, participants in each group ate foods with high, intermediate or low sodium levels during the study.
Results showed reducing sodium intakes from high to intermediate reduced blood pressure in both groups, but more so in the group assigned to the DASH diet. Reducing sodium intake from intermediate to low resulted in an additional reduction in blood pressure. Blood pressure was reduced in both groups when sodium intake was reduced, the largest reductions were seen in the group who consumed the DASH diet and lowered their sodium intake. The best reductions were seen in those who had very high blood pressure prior to the study 2.
Interestingly the results also suggest that reducing your sodium intake from high to low, can be as effective in reducing blood pressure as changing diet to be higher in fruit and vegetables etc.
The DASH diet not only reduced blood pressure but has recently been shown to have beneficial effects on bones, reducing bone turnover3. This may prove to be beneficial in the older age group. (Refer to the reference for a copy of the diet.)
Adopting a diet that is high in fruit and vegetables and low in salt can benefit health by lowering blood pressure, therefore reducing the risks of cardiovascular disease.
(2) Sacks FM, Svetkey LP, Vollmer WM (2001) Effects on blood pressure of reduced dietary sodium and the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet. N Engl J Med. 344; 3-10.
(3) Doyle L, Cashman KD (2004) The DASH diet may have beneficial effects on bone health. Nutr Rev. 62; 215-220.
|
|
School meals
Food provided in the school environment is important for children’s growth and development, whether provided by the school’s catering system or brought in from home. School meals contribute between a quarter and a third of young people’s daily energy, fat, dietary fibre, iron, calcium, vitamin C and folate intake, so a nutritionally balanced school meal, whether provided by home or by the school, is a crucial way to impact on children’s nutritional wellbeing. Unfortunately research has suggested that although more caterers may be providing some highly nutritious meals, not all children are choosing the best options (see the school meals report for further details). Similarly only a quarter of all school lunchboxes meet the nutrition guidelines (see below).
Lunchboxes are still not cutting the grade
A recent survey on the nutritional quality of children’s lunchboxes was carried out by the British Dietetic Association on behalf of the Food Standards Agency. This study updated information carried out last year (reviewed on the HET news and factfinder page
http://www.healthedtrust.com/pages/news.htm) to observe how the situation had changed.
Standards stipulate that packed lunches should contain at least
- One portion of fruit and one portion of vegetables
- One portion of dairy item e.g. cheese or yoghurt
- One portion of meat, fish or other protein source e.g. nuts
- One portion of a starchy food such as bread, pasta or rice
Nationally the quality of lunches is still very poor, although small improvements were seen from last year. Here’s a brief summary of the latest findings:
- Only one quarter of the sample met all nutrition standards, which is more than last year.
- Only a half of all children had a portion of fruit or vegetable in their lunches, with favourite items being apples and bananas.
- Consumption of wholemeal and granary based sandwiches increased and white bread consumption reduced.
- Drinks containing sugar have rapidly increased from last years’ survey.
- Dairy consumption increased.
- Intake of crisps and chocolate bars/biscuits has slightly reduced, although levels are still high, and the consumption of drinks containing sugar has rapidly increased.
- Protein intake was lower than recommendations, but fat and saturated fat intakes were much higher, and are higher than last year. However carbohydrate intake was on target, but contributions tended to come from refined carbohydrates e.g. sugars, white bread etc. rather than fibre sources e.g. wholemeal bread, fruit and vegetables.
- Salt intake equated to 50% of children’s total daily recommended intake; white bread, crisps and processed meats such as ham contributed highly to this.
- 5% of children did not appear to be consuming any fluid during their lunch period; this can cause dehydration and other complications during the day.
These changes are a starting point, but quality is still poor and further improvements are needed. The study concluded that packed lunches should contain more starchy foods, more fruit and vegetables, and dairy products such as low fat yoghurts and fromage frais.
|
How do you start to make changes?
It is not necessary to exclude all of the high fat, high sugar products that children thoroughly enjoy; it is about making a compromise to ensure children are consuming a balance of nutrients.
- Gradually make changes and start to incorporate new foods whilst keeping some favourites.
- Try and provide foods from all food groups to achieve the Balance of Good Health.
- Small changes (such as simply adding some fruit or vegetables) could help balance a child’s lunchbox, allowing them to consume all the nutrients that are required for growth, which is achieved by eating foods from all food groups.
- Try and introduce brown or wholegrain bread or rolls for sandwiches and a piece of fruit or a small container of mixed grapes, berries and raisins.
- Carrots, peppers and cherry tomatoes add exciting colours to lunchboxes and are naturally sweet which children will learn to love.
- Try sticks of vegetables with a cheese or peanut butter dip.
|
|
The Which? Report: Cereal Offenders, March 2004
Breakfast, as we all know, is ‘the most important meal of the day’ due to the need to ‘break the fast’ from the previous nights sleep. However many people skip breakfast, then feel hungry mid-morning and end up snacking on products that are high in salt, fat and sugar. There’s now a good deal of research to show that people who start the day with breakfast cereal are more likely to achieve a good diet overall in terms of nutrients.
It is worrying to note then that the majority of breakfast cereals aimed at children contain large quantities of salt, sugar and saturated fat.
The Consumers Association carried out a comprehensive survey tabulating the fibre, salt, sugar and fat content of 100 breakfast cereals produced by the 5 biggest manufactures. The cereals were analysed into two categories ‘cereals marketed to children’ and ‘choosing cereals for adults.’ It is worrying that 40% of cereals surveyed were classified as containing ‘a lot’ of salt, which was more than 1.25g salt/100g of cereal.
Aside from these findings, the question is: Why do we have to make a distinction between cereals for adults and children? Who says children can’t eat from the same cereal box as their parents? If children were introduced from an early age to the so called ‘adult’ type cereals then this will remove the need for such heavily processed cereals that require high levels of salt and sugar to apparently taste good!
Eating breakfast with your children is an important step to encouraging healthy eating habits.
To access the full Which? report visit
http://www.which.net/campaigns/food/nutrition/0403cerealoffenders.pdf
|
Health
Education Trust
18 High Street / Broom / Alcester / Warwickshire / B50 4HJ
enquiries @HealthEdTrust.com |
|
|
