Shanghai education authorities may ban sales of some high
calorie foods in campus snack shops next year, including salty
snacks and carbonated drinks, to curb a rise in obesity among
students.
Shop owners will be required to keep junk food such as French
fries, hamburgers and colas off shelves while no vendors are
allowed to sell snacks near schools, the Shanghai Education
Commission said at a health forum yesterday, the Shanghai
Oriental Morning Post reported today.
But the report didn't say what punishments violators will face,
if any.
The ban is a part of the commission's plan to improve local
children's diets, which have been blamed for an increasing obesity
rate among students.
The obesity rate among people ranging from seven years old to 22
reached 11.5 percent in Shanghai in 2005, 1.4 percentage points
higher than that in 2000 while the rate among teenagers between the
ages of 16 and 18 was 14.8 percent, the highest among all age
groups.
To offer more nutrient food to students, the commission will
introduce a healthy food standard for lunches to all the schools
across Shanghai, the report said.
The standard, which is still being drafted, will provide a clear
definition of the suitable number of calories a student should eat
at lunch, the report said.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Health labeled fried
chicken, puffed food, chocolate pies, instant noodles and ice cream
as foods that children should only eat in limited amounts.
(Shanghai Daily September 25, 2007)