Celebs tackle child obesity

Jamie Oliver, Bill Clinton urge better nutrition for young people

Rosie Schwartz
National Post Tuesday, May 23, 2006

We are a society obsessed with celebrities. Witness the media coverage of the state of Paul McCartney's marriage. While some public figures may use this celebrity to step up to the podium to advance their causes, not all may achieve their goals. Again, Paul McCartney is a good example.

Then there are those such as Jamie Oliver and Bill Clinton. They have set their sights on the youth of their nations and it seems many people are taking note. And it is certainly about time. Warning bells have steadily been sounding over the past few years foretelling of the potential toll that Western lifestyles may be taking on young people around the world.

But finally, there's a wave of optimism as changes are afoot, not just in Britain and the United States, but here in Canada as well.

Across the Atlantic, Mr. Oliver has been stirring the pot and creating an uproar about what is on the menu at British schools. And it seems his efforts have yielded results the chef can certainly savour.

An expert advisory group, set up following his "Feed Me Better" school meal campaign, has made a number of key recommendations to the government. In addition to providing a large cash infusion to improve the nutritional rating of food served, new guidelines for school meals have been recommended.

Instead of salt- and fat-laden options, students will get a minimum of two portions of fruit and vegetables with every meal. Deep-fried food, a previous mainstay on menus, will be restricted to two portions per week. And oily fish, with its omega-3 fatty acids, will be a compulsory menu item as well.

But that is not all. The ABCs of food preparation, often thought by many to be an unnecessary skill nowadays, will be back on the curriculum for teenagers across England. Along with food preparation, students will also learn about nutrition and food safety.

More recently in the United States, Mr. Clinton and his Alliance for A Healthier Generation have made headlines with their initiatives, which led to new beverage guidelines for schools across the country. For each level of school -- elementary, middle and high school -- criteria have been set as to allow beverages as well as portion sizes.

In addition to bottled water being made available at all levels, low-fat and skim milk, with some flavoured offerings (up to 150 calories per serving) and 100% juice can be sold with portions being limited to eight ounces at the elementary level and 10 ounces for middle school-aged children. For high school students, serving sizes can be up to 12 ounces with certain caloric limits.

Calorie-free and low-calorie drinks are also available for the high school students but at least 50% of the beverages must be water and no- or low-calorie options.

The inclusion of sports drinks in high schools, however, has been somewhat controversial.

But it is very interesting to note that the American Beverage Association, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Cadbury Schweppes all bought into the new guidelines on a voluntary basis with no legislation required. Maybe there was a little arm-twisting, but if so, it wasn't in the public eye.

Why are these same companies not volunteering to take similar action in Canada? In some provinces, there is legislation dealing with beverages in schools, but why can't these companies step up to the plate north of the border? It is a question Canadians should ask of these large corporations.

While the United States may have Bill Clinton and Britain, Jamie Oliver, we've got the dynamic duo of Debbie Field and Lori Nikkel. The two work with a dedicated team at FoodShare in Toronto.

What began as an organization to deal with hunger issues in the city has grown into one that encompasses all aspects of food -- access, knowledge and nutrition, to name a few.

Ms. Field, executive director of FoodShare, is a recent recipient of a Vital People Grant Award given by the Toronto Community Foundation for her work in the area of food security and her role in the growth of more than 400 student nutrition programs in Toronto. Among them are the Salad Bar and the Field to Table programs, ones that are leading to calls from across the country for help in implementing similar programs.

The Salad Bar program began as a pilot project in 2002 and was so wildly successful, it is now in 20 schools across the city. While it is called a salad bar, the self-serve lunch includes -- along with a variety of fruits and vegetables -- whole grains, legumes and various other protein-rich options to make it a complete meal. And the kids love it.

While many parents hate the concept of peer pressure, this is the one area where Ms. Nikkel, co-ordinator of the program, thinks it is fabulous. She saw the results first-hand with one of her own sons.

"It was only when one of my sons saw his best friend try the cauliflower that he dared to try it himself," she said. Now cauliflower is a regularly requested product for her fridge at home. Other parents with children in the program have experienced similar surprising, but pleasing, results with kids asking for such items as broccoli and spinach, when they had previously turned their noses up at trying them.

Ms. Fields and Ms. Nikkel are heading out to Prince George, B.C., this month to talk to school boards interested in implementing the program in their area. Other school boards in such places as Saskatoon and Winnipeg are also looking into the concept.

The Salad Bar program allows youngsters from elementary to secondary school to learn about food -- to see, smell and taste it without any packaging. They can learn to enjoy food without guilt -- especially for those who struggle with the growing problem of being overweight.

While Ms. Field applauds Mr. Clinton's efforts on the vending-machine front, she would like to invite him to Toronto to see the importance of hands-on exposure to food and the potential for a lifelong healthy relationship with its pleasures. Stay tuned.

Next week: More on kids' nutrition including FoodShare's other initiatives, along with practical tips for parents about how to get healthy fare on to their children's menus.

- Rosie Schwartz is a Toronto-based consulting dietitian in private practice and is the author of The Enlightened Eater's Whole Foods Guide: Harvest the Power of Phyto Foods (Viking Canada).