Molly's+Guide+-+ISSUE+2

Molly’s Guide to:
Food Glorious Food
Kids said: “Your child’s mind needs nurturing
and nourishment like any other part of his or
her body.
“Just as a good diet helps maintain
a healthy heart, lungs, digestion, so it can
influence the efficiency of the brain’s
chemical processes, improving memory,
concentration and mental energy.”
Family run Kidz Kitchen, based at St Marks Yard in
Lincoln, supply meals to Nurseries and Schools in
and around the Lincoln area. Pictured are owners,
from left, Dad, Bob Robertson, Bob's wife Lynn
Robertson and Bob's daughter Jo Bramwell.
Getting children to eat healthy
food can be a nightmare but
here we give a few tips for
success on a plate with
yummy food.
Food, glorious food – figures produced
in a Lincolnshire health report show
that more than nine per cent of children
starting school in reception year in the
county were very overweight.
And according to the Lincolnshire Joint
Strategic Needs Assessment Overview Report,
a further 14.4 per cent were overweight
compared with 13.2 per cent nationally.
Being overweight doesn’t just pose health risks
– not eating a healthy diet can also affect a
child’s performance at school.
As Nicola Graimes, author of Brain Foods for
Being overweight can also lead to worrying
trends such as bullying at school not to
mention cause problems in later life as one
consultant in public health explained.
“We know that children who develop obesity
early in life will be at greater risk of heart
disease, diabetes and some cancers if their
weight does not return to normal levels,
not to mention the psychological distress
they also suffer.”
To try and eradicate this, various initiatives
have been introduced including the `Fit Kids’
programmes and encouraging more children to
walk and cycle to school in Lincolnshire.
Reception pupils in some Lincolnshire schools
were also offered free school dinners in a one
month pilot project to encourage children
from an early age to eat the right things.
For, as one public health consultant pointed
out, some children’s packed lunches are more
like treat boxes – with even a Smarties’
sandwich not out of bounds.
“We want more people to be eating school
dinners simply because some children’s packed
lunches are like treat boxes.” And like a car’s
engine needing fuel, it’s what we put into
a child’s body that helps it function better
and more effectively.
Jo Bramwell, director of Kidz Kitchens in
Lincoln, provider of school meals to 10 primary
schools in the area, is well aware of how
important a healthy diet is for children.
14 WEBSITE: www.mollysguide.co.uk molly’s guide | Edition 2 | Summer 2012
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