National Healthy School Canteens Project Training Program 1 Program Briefing
2007 National Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey
Up to Nutrition and Healthy Eating
Australian children aged 5-16 years
- Energy intake during school hours was 32% of total energy
- Fruit intake during school hours was 62% of total fruit consumed
- Vegetable intake during school hours was 17% of total vegetable consumed
- Calcium intake during school hours was 28% of total calcium
- Prevalence of overweight ranged from 13-19% for boys and 15-23% for girls
- Girls in the age group of 9-13 years had the highest prevalence of overweight
- The prevalence of obesity was similar at 5-7% for both boys and girls
Overall children were not consuming the recommended amount of fruit, vegetables or calcium. However, a significant proportion of the fruit and calcium they did consume was during school hours.
Interestingly, only 17% of total vegetable intake was during school hours, suggesting an opportunity to increase promotion, and thereby, consumption of vegetables during this time.
As mentioned previously, the majority of children were of normal weight, with 13-19% of boys and 15-23% of girls being overweight. The focus of the NHSC Project is to encourage the development and reinforcement of healthy eating patterns at school, promoting balance in the diet, rather than weight management.
1 DoHA 2008. 2007 Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, Main Findings, - www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/66596E8FC68FC68FD1A2570027DB86/$File/childrens-nuts-phys-survey.pdf (This website link was valid at the time of submission)