Day 032 - 06 Oct 94 - Page 16
1 of children had fat intakes contributing more than 40 per
2 cent of their energy intakes. As you have probably heard
3 in this court, their recommendations ----
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It leads on ----
6 A. It does indeed. It leads on to say it contrasts with
7 the recommendations of the panel on diet and
8 cardiovascular disease, "total fat intake should not
9 exceed 35 per cent".
10
11 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The first sentence went on, "... and three
12 quarters took more than 35 per cent of their energy as
13 fat", and then contrasting it with the recommendation of
14 the COMA Panel on diet and cardiovascular disease.
15
16 MR. MORRIS: So would that be a worrying picture?
17 A. Yes, it would, because it would indicate that these
18 children were developing dietary patterns which would
19 potentially put them at risk of heart disease in later
20 life.
21
22 Q. And obesity, presumably, as well?
23 A. And obesity as well and various other diseases which
24 have been linked to high fat intakes.
25
26 Q. Is there anything else you would like to say about this
27 survey, this report? Why did it take so long to publish
28 it?
29 A. There has been speculation. The survey was undertaken
30 in 1982 and a draft report was finally made available in
31 1986, but the results were somewhat embarrassing to the
32 government and they did not proceed rapidly with
33 publication of the final report. But I can only say that
34 that was speculation at the time.
35
36 MR. JUSTICE BELL: In what way was it thought it would
37 embarrass them?
38 A. That it came in a context of a deregulation of school
39 meals; that is to say, the Department of Education's
40 recommendations that schools should provide a basic
41 minimal nutritional content in their school meals had been
42 abandoned, had been withdrawn, in 1979, and at this time,
43 in the mid-80s, schools were being urged to put their
44 catering contracts out to tender and to accept those that
45 came in at the lowest price, and nutrition was not a
46 requirement of those catering contracts.
47
48 So, it came in a context of a certain amount of furore
49 over the role of school meals and the role of nutrition
50 for children providing free school meals.
51
52 MR. MORRIS: Do you happen to know, while we are on this
53 subject, whether the proportion of children who eat school
54 meals in schools has gone down over the last 10 years?
55 A. Yes, I believe it has gone down; in particular, for
56 lower social groups, lower income groups, the proportion
57 of children taking free school meals has fallen despite
58 the increase in the numbers of children in low income
59 families. This is partly to do with the withdrawal of
60 free school meal eligibility from about 50 per cent of
