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  • Title: Nutrition of the school-aged child.
    Journal: SCN News; 1998 Jul; (16):3-4. PubMed ID: 12348762.
    Abstract:
    Data from the Partnership for Child Development shows that nutrition problems of school children may be greater and more widespread than previously thought; its experience indicates that school-based health and nutrition programs are feasible and effective. A survey of donors and agencies reveals wide support for school health and nutrition programs. Data on iron deficiency from a database developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate a higher prevalence of anemia in school-age children than in pre-school children. In school-aged children in Mongolia, the very low intake of fruit is responsible for the lower than normal values of some essential vitamins and minerals. Food-for-school programs, such as the national program in India, provide food to take home to children with high attendance records; this is used to attract the enrollment and attendance of children, particularly girls. In India, the government-funded Nutritional Support to Primary Education Programme has been successful in rural areas and will include the entire country by the end of 1998. In Indonesia, the school feeding program in designated 'poor' villages continues to be funded by the government in spite of the economic crisis there. In South Africa, a case study has shown that the use of fortified biscuits as a snack food results in the significant improvement of the micronutrient status of school children. Concerns learned from the Kenyan programs, which have suffered from a lack of funds, include the key role of parents, the safety and quality of food from vendors and hawkers, and the use of money, which was given to children for food, for drugs. Guidelines that promote healthy eating for school children in the US have been developed. Overeating, obesity, eating disorders, and the future risk of chronic disease have become problems in developed countries and among some groups of people in developing countries. In developed countries, personal preferences drive the nutritional patterns of school children, rather than the availability of food. In Nepal, a study indicates that, among children in more affluent schools, preferences are moving toward modern convenience foods of poor nutritional quality.
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