A bite-size approach to tackling obesity

One need not travel too far back to recall a time when chips were served up as part of just about every meal in a school canteen. Processed meat and fizzy pop were very much the order of the day, with salad and fruit conspicuous only by their absence.

True to say very few people would want to go back to those days, when the only healthy option was to take a packed lunch from home instead, but it is worth remembering there was relatively little talk of an obesity crisis.

Now, of course, school menus are very much in the firing line, with celebrity chefs and politicians lining up to hit out at some of the calorific, sugar-laden items on the menu.

Nobody would argue with the need to tackle obesity, but it would be foolish indeed to put all of the (no doubt chocolate coated) eggs in one basket.

Surely of equal concern is the increasingly sedentary lifestyles of our young people. A few short years ago, a youngster may have wolfed down a fairly unhealthy school dinner but at least they would have spent much of the rest of the day playing outside, burning off energy. Nowadays, even a child who has eaten a relatively modest lunch is unlikely to enjoy much benefit if they spend the rest of the day glued to a mobile phone, video game system or tablet.

As ever, finding the right balance is the key – and tackling school dinners will never be any more than a tiny part of the solution.