LAHORE: Pakistan's Punjab province plans to ban soft drinks in school canteens and replace them with flavoured milks and fresh juices to address the growing health problems associated with high sugar intake among children.
The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) also intends to give the school canteens a set of guidelines to provide the children with healthier options instead of junk food, The Express Tribune reported.
The proposal will be presented before the upcoming board meeting of the authority for approval, the paper said.
The food watchdog is also planning an awareness campaign to promote healthy lunch boxes for schoolchildren, keeping in view that Pakistan stands among the countries with the worst stunted growth problem.
PFA Director General Noorul Amin Mengal said junk food and soft drinks were having adverse effects on children.
"The youth are Pakistan’s future and need to be taken care of," he said, backing the proposal to ban harmful food products in schools.
He also suggested that canteens should serve flavoured milks, juices, fruits and boiled eggs to children, as proper diet not only affected physical growth but also the mental growth of a child.
"The ban on soft drinks will be imposed hopefully after the approval of the PFA board members," he added.
Food technologist Dr Zafar Mehmood, an associate professor at the Forman Christian College University, said soft drinks are extremely harmful for children of growing age.
"Soft drinks combined with junk food available at most school canteens create a sort of silent hunger, where the body remains without important nutrients despite the fulfilling feeling," the paper quoted him as saying.
He added the intake of soft drinks for growing children reduced bone density, created stomach disorders, made them hyper-active and caused attention span deficit.
The debate of banning soft drinks in schools is not limited to Pakistan or South Asia.
In December 2010, former US president Barack Obama had signed the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 that mandates schools receiving federal funding from the US government to offer healthy snacks and beverages to students.
The act banned the sale of soft drinks to students and required schools to provide healthier options such as water, unflavoured low-fat milk, 100 per cent fruit and vegetable drinks or sugar-free carbonated beverages.
In May 2006, British education secretary Alan Johnson announced new minimum nutrition standards for school food.
Among a wide range of measures, school lunches were to be free from carbonated drinks. Schools also ended the sale of junk food, including carbonated drinks, in vending machines and tuck shops.