The school based health nutritional policy may have its advantages such as increase in school attendance and the prevention of diet related diseases but may also face a number of disadvantages. Chief among them will be inequalities that will come with the whole process. First, for dietary interventions to take effect, certain measures must be taken by the school such as the increase in the school fee to cater for the employment of dieticians and other qualified personnel. Children from lesser fortunate backgrounds will therefore, find it difficult to cope with the situation due to increased budgetary demands to their parents and guardians.
Dietary alterations may also need enough time to take effect. It may not be achieved overnight because the children need an ample time to familiarize themselves with the interventions that may take shape through lowering the fat content and cutting away the junk food. During this period, the children may resist the new food and this will in turn affect their concentration levels in class which may ultimately affect their academic performances.
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It does not necessarily mean that the new policy on healthy nutrition will have a positive impact on the health of all the children. The human body is unique from person to person, and one thing that may impact positively on one’s body may impact negatively on another. The new food will demand that new ingredients and new methods of cooking be employed. However, due to the uniqueness of the human body, some children may be affected with the food in forms such as allergy and indigestion.
Therefore for such a policy to be implemented in a school, wide consultations must first be made with stakeholders from the health department. The transition from the old dietary habits to the new ones must be smooth without altering the balance that was initially there. Although it is very difficult to take care of each individual child’s needs, proper harmonization should be ensured to ensure that a large majority go down well with the diet. With this done the few that may have issues with the diet can be given a special treatment. That notwithstanding, qualified health professionals including nutritionists and dieticians must be recruited to see through the transition.
