Schools need to encourage physical activity

Too much emphasis is being put on what goes into a child’s lunchbox, according to one expert who said that schools should instead be focusing on encouraging more physical activity.

Dr David Ashton at Healthier Weight said that children who are overweight need facilities which can make physical activity easier, such as places to store their bicycles after they have rode them to school.

He said: “The best thing any school can do is to stop fussing about the contents of children’s lunch boxes and concentrate on providing safe walkways to school and facilities for children to store their bicycles.”

The expert added that there is little to be gained by sending overweight children to a dietician because in some cases they have a medical condition that needs treatment, which may interest people looking for parental advice.

A recent poll commissioned by the Department of Children, Schools and Families showed that only around 20 per cent of five to 19-year-olds have taken part in three hours or more of organised sport.

Written by Alice Rowe