Amal Al Suraihi Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Nutritionists are recommending that schools cafeterias be forced to provide foods that contain all the required nutrients during the growing stages of students, as a balanced food diet positively impacts the general health of children. Some children disregard their home prepared meals and prefer to buy sweets and snacks that lack beneficial nutrients. A mother of an elementary student noticed her son gaining weight when he attended school, although the composition of meals at home had not changed. A father said that he accompanies his son daily to the supermarket to buy the foods he likes, and his mother prepares the meals simply to avoid buying from schools cafeterias that offer unhealthy snacks. Dr. Ruwaydah Idris, a nutrition consultant, said that meals offered at schools cafeterias play a role in the increase of various diseases, such as diabetes, obesity and thinness, cancer, tooth decay, vision problems, heart diseases, anemia, stress, inability to comprehend, and stubbornness. She stresses the importance of providing a balanced and full diet to the students that contains all the nutrients needed for growth and energy to grow healthy, especially since they spend more than a third of their day at school. They should get a third of their daily nutrition needs, in breakfast and a light meal to avoid the known nutrition problems, while stimulating the memory, protecting from exhaustion, and controlling stress. She recommends that school breakfast meals should be inline with recommendations of the International Food and Drug Administration by diversifying nutrients for children in terms of quantity and various nutrition elements that contain small amounts of sugar, salt and calories that students need according to their age, and diversification between animal proteins and vegetable proteins. She assures that as much as the breakfast meal is balanced, so will be the brain function, as studies have shown that a child who eats a breakfast consisting of balanced calories of carbohydrates and proteins shows a greater capacity for achievement and accomplishment, than a child who has breakfast that contains a higher proportion of protein or of starches. Dr. Maha Al Ata of family and community medicinepromotes the need to teach children from a young age of good healthy food habits by providing a balanced diet containing different nutrients of proteins and carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals, and provide the child a home made meal, in addition to giving him some money in case he wishes to buy a piece of candy. Global scientific studies show that proper healthy and balanced nutrition has a tremendous impact on the academic achievement of the students, as the lack of important elements such as zinc, iron, vitamin B, or proteins negatively affect the growth of the brain, leading to a decrease IQ, and resulting in aggressive social behavior. The school cafeteria and teachers play an important role, in partnership with the family, in developing good food habits and behaviors, and the load lies more on the school, as it is important to educate children and adolescents of food groups and their importance. The school cafeteria should consider banning canned food and sugary sweets. It is possible to provide nutritious boxed meals that appeal to children. The role of the family should be emphasized in cooperating with the school to provide the student with a healthy breakfast and to set an example in nutrition patterns. The Director of the Educational Media Departement in Jeddah Educational Departement, Abdul Majeed AlGhamdi, pointed out that private schools cafeterias are handled by the schools themselves, and that supervisors of the Ministry's student services and school health continuously tour the schools and follow-up this issue. He added that the contractor for government schools cafeterias in Jeddah is Gulf Catering Company, through an agreement signed with Tatweer Holding Company.
