The District Education Officer

Pejabat Pelajaran WP Putrajaya,

Jalan P16, Presint 16,
62150 PUTRAJAYA

Subject: The unhealthy eating habits and living lifestyle of students
As a primary school teacher, I would like to convey to you the students
unhealthy eating habits and living lifestyle in school.
The Malaysian Health Ministrys new healthy canteen food guideline which was
supposed to be implemented on the first day of school this year not only has
been delayed, yet the current existing guidelines have not been well
implemented.
Most of the food served in school canteen between the hours 6 a. m to 4p.m are
usually greasy, fattening food such as fried sausage, fried fish balls, nuggets,
sugared doughnuts, kuih and canned drinks that contain artificial flavoring. These
poor-quality but delicious and enticing foods psychologically boost up students
eating desire and they usually spend more money on them rather than the
healthier food.
School recess periods which are given between 15-30 minutes for lunch are
consider inadequate as students would not be able to eat slowly and healthily.
There are also long-term consequences of being taught to eat quickly. Studies
have demonstrated that eating quickly promotes overeating, because the body
does not have enough time to register fullness. Overeating leads to obesity
which is now at epidemic levels in Malaysia.
You are what you eat, some of the students shows tiredness, unfocused, jittery
after consuming food loaded with sugars, caffeine, chemicals and sodium. This
will not only impact students grades and performance, but also influences their
behavior and moods. The intake of food is vital for proper performance, many of
the foods offered in school canteens today are actually hindering students
abilities to learn.
Nowadays, students are mostly driven to and from school instead of walking.
They are also spending more time on sedentary activities such as TV watching,
computer and video games rather than outdoor activities. These unhealthy
lifestyles that students are increasingly adopting and the leading causes of heart
disease and stroke, obesity, poor diet and physical inactivity, are now being seen
at an alarmingly early age.
To overcome these problems, there are several suggestions. School and health
authorities should play an important role and responsibilities not only by ensuring
canteen operators are providing safe and nutritious food but also bringing out
programs which targets primary school children and aims to support and educate
them about the importance of good nutrition and regular physical activity so as to
develop and sustain a healthy school environment.
Canteen operators should limit fat in students diet by broiling, baking, poaching,
boiling and microwaving foods with little or no fat instead of frying them in oil.
Canned and carton beverages should also be banned as the ingredients contains
high glucose which will cause an incredible drop in energy, focus, and successful
mental performance.
Last but not least, Health Ministry and school authorities should consider
providing ample time for children to eat food in a healthy manner and exercise on
physical education classes and treat this time as central in their scheduling, not
something that can be shaved away when other needs arise. A student who is
easily tired and irritable, and cannot learn effectively, no matter how many
additional minutes of curriculum are added.
I hope that the District Education Officer will into our matters and consider our
suggestions in improving student health and academic performance.

Prepared by,
Lew Pey Meng
Teacher
S.J.K(C) Chong Hwa
http://children.webmd.com/guide/kids-healthy-eating-habits