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    42        abandoned, had been withdrawn, in 1979, and at this time,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

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