Fed: Lunchboxes 'sugar, fat and salt cocktails': study

AAP General News (Australia)
04-17-2006
Fed: Lunchboxes 'sugar, fat and salt cocktails': study

By Roberta Mancuso

BRISBANE, April 17 AAP - The average child's lunchbox can contain as much sugar, fat
and salt as seven lollipops and a small salt shaker, a new study has found.

Brisbane dietician Kate Di Prima said common lunchbox snacks were "sugar, fat and salt
cocktails," contributing to health problems in children such as high blood pressure, obesity
and diabetes.

Twenty items commonly found in lunchboxes of children aged four to six were compared
nutritionally to a piece of fresh fruit.

Ms Di Prima said a lunchbox filled with fruit juice, a jam sandwich, teddy biscuits,
a muesli bar, a fruit wrap and a packet of dip and biscuits was like giving a child seven
lollipops and enough salt to fill a small shaker.

"Most of the foods studied were low in or had no vitamin C, little or no fibre in anything
and were quite high in sodium, or salt," she said today.

The foods "had quite a refined nature to them," resulting in a very high glycemic index,
which gives children a fast burst of energy but leaves them feeling hungry and lethargic
a short time later, she said.

"So in terms of children going to school and having those foods for morning tea, their
ability to concentrate and learn may be diminished if they're feeling hungry and getting
a bit ratty," she added.

Ms Di Prima said the worst food to give a child was fruit wraps. "It's almost like
a gum - it sticks to their teeth, it has no vitamins, no fibre, it is just pure sugar
rolled into a flat strap."

She said diets high in fat, sugar and calories and low in fibre could lead to physical
problems such as childhood diabetes and obesity.

That could lead to psychological problems such as social isolation and poor self-esteem,
she said.

Only 50 per cent of parents were found to be packing a piece of fresh fruit into their
children's lunchboxes.

"Children should eat at least one piece of fruit between the hours of 9am to 3pm and
a second piece after dinner each day," Ms Di Prima said.

"You might even have to go for the gimmicks, like boiling the fruit, or putting it
onto a little skewer."

Parents should also give children water instead of fruit juice and put meat on sandwiches
for protein, using freezer cubes to keep them cool.

"You need to make a distinction fairly early on in a child's life between junk and
good food," Ms Di Prima said.

"If you miss the boat ... it's a battleground to try to get them to come back to healthy
food again."

AAP rm/jt/nf

KEYWORD: LUNCHBOX

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