Why children need a balanced diet to thrive
Healthy meals at school and at home promote learning
During the earliest years of parenthood, parents may stress about the food their children eat. I often worry about the amount of sugar and salt that is added to products, and whether I’m giving my kids the right balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Add to the mix fussy eaters, seasonal holidays, birthday parties, and grandparents who love to bring treats, and it can feel overwhelming to ensure that my children are eating a balanced diet.
“Eleven per cent of UK children live in food-insecure homes.”
For some families, though, the struggle is simply to put food of any kind on the table. Eleven per cent of UK children live in food-insecure homes. Food insecurity can happen even when both parents work. “It’s got to the point where we still can’t afford things for the kids,” says Olympia, a mum of three who was interviewed on BBC Woman’s Hour in July 2024. She says she feels that she’s failed if there’s little left for breakfast towards the end of the month. And while her kids’ school has a breakfast club, it costs money.
The impact of free school meals
In the UK, children from low-income households already have access to free school meals at lunch time, which are mandated to be healthy. But the new UK government has pledged to introduce free breakfast clubs to every primary school in England, an important measure given the clear links between eating breakfast and cognition. When students from low-income families skip breakfast, the gap in academic performance between those students and their more fortunate classmates widens.
But there are challenges in getting free food to kids who need it most. In the UK, children from low-income families attend school less than their wealthier peers, missing out not only on school, but also on free meals. Over two million children in England have access to free school meals, representing 25% of pupils in state-funded schools, but these children are also most persistently absent from school.
“There are challenges in getting free food to kids who need it most.”
One study examined the long-term effects of a free, nutritious school lunch policy in Swedish schools, looking at income, education and health after children reached adulthood. Students who received free lunches during their entire primary education had higher educational attainment and a 3% higher lifetime income compared to pupils who didn’t receive a free lunch. The effect was stronger the younger the children were when the food programme started, and for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The authors note that the policy “led to large and positive effects on height, early adult health, and educational attainment”.
Giving children high-quality food
The quality of food on offer is important, as learning outcomes differ between children who eat food with little nutritional value and those who eat highly nutritious food. Children who consume excessive amounts of fatty and sugary foods may become overweight, and childhood obesity is linked to worse educational outcomes. The effect is most pronounced in adolescents and girls.
In one study, children who ate a wholegrain breakfast of oatmeal had better spatial memory than those who ate a sugary cereal high in refined carbohydrates or those who skipped breakfast altogether. The girls in the study who ate oatmeal also had better short-term memories than their peers. The higher fibre and protein in oatmeal likely led to more stable levels of glucose in the blood, which in turn may have influenced cognition.
Helping children eat healthily at home
To help children eat more healthily, parents should look at their own diets. Recent research involving over 3,800 parents found that it was not uncommon for parents to give their children a healthy meal, but then to go on to make something unhealthy for themselves. This unhealthy option often becomes the backup meal if their child refuses to eat the healthy one. If children expect to be offered a second option, they may be less likely to eat what’s first given to them, creating a vicious cycle. The authors therefore advise parents to consider “nixing the backup plan and making sure both they and their children are eating nutritiously”.
This is very important, given that children’s eating habits are heavily influenced by what their parents eat. While there is a genetic component to children’s food preferences, “children model themselves on their parents’ eating behaviours”, as one review paper put it.
“Children’s eating habits are heavily influenced by what their parents eat.”
To give children the best start in life, parents with the means to purchase nutritious food can model healthy eating at home. For disadvantaged children who may not have healthy meals at home, breakfast clubs and free school meal policies can make a big difference in making sure children are well fed and ready to learn.
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