We have launched a new report, Fuelling Young Minds, highlighting the importance of providing food education within schools to equip younger generations with vital information to make informed decisions about food.
Society is facing a well-documented obesity crisis, with data from the National Child Measurement Programme showing more than one in five children (22.3%) aged 4 to 5 years and more than one in three (37.8%) aged 10 to 11 years are overweight or obese.
Our new Fuelling Young Minds report not only focuses on insight around the need to educate pupils, but also demonstrates the importance of finding innovative solutions to communicate this information with younger generations.
The content for the report has been produced through quantitative data from both primary and secondary pupils attending state and independent schools across the country, alongside insight from industry experts, including Tom Kerridge, food charities, and nutritionists. The findings are composed into three chapters; Nutrition & Health, Cooking & Food and Sustainability.
Key findings from the report include:
· 82% of pupils expressed interest in eating a healthy and balanced diet
· 38% of all state school pupils eat their five portions of fruit and veg every day, whereas across all independent schools this jumps up to 68%
· 64% of state primary school children say they want to help cook meals at home but this falls to 54% at secondary schools
· Only 25% pupils surveyed trust the information that they find online about nutrition – even fewer (7%) check what they find online with an expert
· 61% of pupils are concerned about food waste and its impact on the environment.
Charles Brown, Managing Director, Chartwells said: "We know there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure young people are educated and feel empowered to make the right decisions when it comes to nutrition, food choices and sustainability. Schools play a huge role in providing young people with the knowledge they need to make these decisions.
"This is why at Chartwells we are committed to supporting and collaborating with schools across the UK to create engaging tools and digital content that will help educate their pupils. We’re also continuing to look for ways to reach more children through new and innovative platforms so that we fuel the appetite of future generations with the information they need to live a healthy life.”
A full copy of the Fuelling Young Minds report can be found here.