Trials to tempt children to eat healthier foods from school tuck shops, vending machines and lunch boxes are being organised by the government in the latest initiative to shrink youngsters' burgeoning waistlines.
A 500-school programme of experiments designed to tackle child obesity was announced last night by the public health minister, Melanie Johnson.
It includes cookery clubs, attempts to improve the quality of the increasingly popular school breakfasts, and moves to encourage pupils to understand where food comes from.
The £2m package, funded by the departments of health and education, illustrates ministers' concern at the growth in obesity, which has risen by three-fifths in boys and two-fifths in girls in nine years.
One in seven 15-year-olds and one in 12 six-year-olds are obese, while a survey by the catering contractor Sodexho has suggested children spend around £430m a year on food and drink on their way to and from school.
Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, has already asked the new media regulator Ofcom to check whether the code of practice for food advertising to children needs strengthening; a drive to get young people to take more exercise is expected within weeks.
Ms Johnson said: "Children who are overweight or obese face greater risk of developing serious illness later in life, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Obesity itself is responsible for 31,000 premature deaths each year."
The government has already funded a free fruit scheme for children aged between four and six, but recognises that more needs to be done to stop obesity rivalling smoking for sending many to an early grave.
Different approaches are to be tried in separate health regions. Lessons learned will be drawn together to develop a national approach towards healthy eating in schools.
About 225 schools in the south-west will be trying to make healthy tuck shops a reality with plenty of fruit and vegetables, many from local farms, sharing space with sweets, crisps and fizzy drinks.
Pupils, parents and catering contractors at 10 secondary schools in the east of England are being asked to look at pricing, product choice, and siting of vending machines where sandwiches, yoghurt, fresh fruit and juices will be available rather than the normal high-fat, high-salt and high-sugar choice. This switch is regarded as potentially one of the trickiest facing health educators, since vending machines can bring in up to £15,000 in revenue a year for cash-strapped schools.
One hundred schools in the south-east will take part in a British Nutrition Foundation project to help parents improve the quality of school lunch boxes. Fifteen schools in London will have "growing clubs" to help children learn where food comes from, with farms showing them the animals behind the packaged products that their families bring back from the shops.
