Healthy Cornwall backs new school food standards aimed at improving children’s health
The new reforms aim to tackle childhood obesity and tooth decay by adding healthier options to school lunch menus.
The government's recent reforms to school food standards mark a significant step towards promoting healthier eating habits among children across England.
The changes will be rolled out from next September with the aim of tackling childhood obesity and tooth decay by reducing high-fat, high-calorie and high-sugar food options in schools.
Craig Manclark, team lead at Healthy Cornwall, said he believes the changes are a "positive step".
"I think schools are a crucial part of everyone's upbringing - not just academically, but also providing big influences on our behaviour," he said.
"By introducing healthy habits, an early age, and creating that environment that promotes healthy eating, we're promoting a healthier future for our children and we're creating those long term, healthy habits.
"So school meals are really, really important."
He emphasised the importance of creating a supportive environment for children to develop healthy eating habits early in life.
"When we're working within schools and within the community, we do see it's a continual issue around choices made in school, packed lunches or snacks in and around schools," Mr Manclark said.
"But with these measures, reducing the amount of high fat, high calorie and high sugar options, we're reducing the options of children developing health issues in later life, especially dental health with the sugary drinks.
"If we can make changes there, which this new legislation does, we're reducing the risk of dental health for younger children."
In Cornwall, where health inequalities and access to services are particular challenges, these reforms are especially important.
"I think the earlier that we can make healthy food accessible to all people - especially people who come from more challenging demographics - to make those changes where we see the highest health inequalities," he said.
"If we can work with young children, young families to introduce taste and textures of the healthier foods and help them to understand how you can work healthy foods perfectly well into a family budget and you can make those good choices, then that's really important for long term change."
He added: "I think communications with families and with the children would be really important. How they can make it an exciting package and show those benefits, but also how they can show that a lot of the healthier choices can be provided within a family budget.
"That's crucial in any community, especially in Cornwall, but if we can work and promote that positively, I think that it will make it a lot easier to change that culture."
Mr Manclark said Healthy Cornwall is actively working to support schools through interactive sessions related to nutrition and cooking, aimed at both children and their families. They provide resources to incorporate healthier food choices within a family budget - crucial in areas facing economic challenges.
Mr Manclark also highlighted the role of new initiatives such as the Healthy Schools Framework and Healthy Under Fives toolkit in aiding communication and support for families trying to make healthier choices.