AMMAN — The consumption of sugar-sweetened
beverages, crackers, and snacks among teenage boys in schools was found to be significantly
higher compared to teenage girls by a recent University of Jordan study.
اضافة اعلان
The study aimed to determine what food
items children purchase and consume from school shops or stores close to their
school and the impact of such foods on body weight.
The study found a significant relationship
between body mass and intake of sugary and fatty foods, as well as the intake
of foods fortified with vitamin E and calcium from school shops.
"I tried a lot to get my kids used to
taking their lunch from home to ensure that they eat while they're at school,
but all my attempts failed. Maybe it's because they imitate their friends who
eat whatever they want from the school canteen or from nearby stores,” Asma
Khasawneh, a mother of two teenage boys, told
Jordan News in an interview.
“The problem is that these markets mostly
offer foods that are very high in sugar, and even if there are some foods with
good nutritional value, children are not inclined to buy them,” Khasawneh
added.
She suggested that the best solution to
such a problem is to closely monitor school shops, so that foods with low
nutritional value are not served to children.
“Children at these ages are still growing
and developing, and anything they eat affects their physical well-being
directly,” Khasawneh said.
"Stores in Jordanian schools depend,
in general, mainly on processed foods and snacks, which contain a high amount
of sugars and saturated fats,” said nutritionist Nashat Dahiyat. He added that
such foods are full of empty calories, meaning they are high in calories but
are not rich in all the nutrients necessary for growing adolescents.
“Schools must change the concept of the
school store to a broader and healthier concept that depends on providing
healthy meals,” Dahiyat said.
Regarding the basic nutritional needs of
adolescents, Dahiyat said that there are many foods that are important for
development and physical growth at this age, the most important of which are
proteins, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin D, a group of B vitamins, iron, and
others. “Unfortunately, if these elements are present in the foods students
buy, it is often in very small proportions that do not suit their needs,”
Dahiyat said.
However, head of the school stores and Red
Crescent Department at the Ministry of Education, Hashem Al-Zubi said that school
stores are supervised.
Zubi said that the department circulates
annual “instructions containing health requirements for stores, and lists the
foods that are allowed to be sold and the foods that are prohibited.” “In
addition, our department conducts field checks and unannounced visits to school
stores within a pre-prepared program,” Zubi said.
Among the list of foods not allowed to be
sold at school stores are soft drinks, drinks containing caffeine, expired
foods, flavored drinks, some sweets and chocolates, any kind of meat, fried
potatoes, ice cream, food and beverages in glass containers, and other items
listed in the Official Gazette, according to Zubi.
“If a public school violates the health
requirements for school stores, the appropriate punitive measures will be taken
against the school director and the store official, in addition a health
warning will be issued from the Ministry of Health,” Zubi said, adding that the
same applies to private schools and that multiple offenses results in a school
store being shut down.
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