School is the place where children spend a major portion of their day, and as they are studying they use up extra calories and need more nourishment. Some parents pack a tiffin with snacks for their children, but most schools have canteens which tempt children with a variety of items, making children want to buy things from the canteen. According to Dr. Faysel Manthattil, child specialist at Badr Al-Tamam Poly Clinic in Sharafiya, Jeddah, most of the items available in school canteens are not healthy for children -- especially those in primary school and kindergarten -- since they are at the beginning of their growing years, where children need more nutritious and healthy food. School canteens usually stock sweets , candies, chocolates and other junk food like chips and so-called “juices” which contain only water, sugar and color in them. Such food is not good for children because it contains preservatives which are not good for health and sometimes cause allergy. Moreover, the artificial color used in these candies, sweets, chips and juices may cause serious health problems. Lastly, there is the hygiene and cleanliness factor. “Most people working in canteens don't care about hygiene at all, and because of that, not only children even older people can get sick. Almost 20 percent patients come to my clinic because of food-related diseases everyday, caused by eating contaminated food,” Dr. Manthattil said. Teachers from different schools also agree that school canteens should sell healthy food or offer a nutritious packed lunch accompanied by milk, like schools in the West. “I've noticed that most of the time school canteens stock junk food that children like to eat. In the name of juice, they have flavored drinks which don't contain any nutrition -- just water, color and sugar,” said Afshan Amber, a private school teacher. “Schools abroad provide nutritious food but here there is no concept of healthy food. Most schools just want to make money from the canteen,” she said. According to the Saudi education ministry, fizzy drinks like Pepsi and Coke are not allowed in schools, but sometimes students find ways to get around the ban. “At our school, children are not allowed to buy Pepsi, but in many other schools it is available for elder students or teachers or sometimes students bring the drinks from outside,” said Seham Khan, another school teacher. “Fizzy drinks are equally harmful for elder children, so school authorities should keep an eye on students so that they don't get fizzy drinks at least in school,” she said. Nasreen Ahmed an English teacher at a primary school said, “We might love children's chubby cheeks or think their fleshy little arms are cute, but those extra fat layers encasing our children — especially around their midriffs — represent probably the biggest health crisis facing their generation, and all this is because of unhealthy food.” According to Dr. Faysel, parents should pack a nutritious lunch for their children and encourage them to develop healthy eating habits. Sometimes children indulge in junk food at school because their parents don't let them eat it at home, which could lead to serious health problems. “To avoid this, school canteens must provide fresh fruits, nutritious snacks or even packed lunches accompanied by plain milk. School canteens can also sign contracts with restaurants to provide fresh lunch. All this can save our children from obesity and related health problems,” he said. __
