1 Nutritional requirements of schoolchildren 2 Findings of the National Diet and Nutrition Surveys 3 Physical activity in schoolchildren 4 Nutrition, physical activity and health in childhood ᭺ 4.1 Overweight and obesity ᭺ 4.2 Cardiovascular risk factors ᭺ 4.3 Iron deficiency anaemia ᭺ 4.4 Oral health ᭺ 4.5 Bone development ᭺ 4.6 Food allergy and intolerance ᭺ 4.7 Mental health 5 Factors affecting food choice 6 Food provision in school 7 Food in the curriculum 8 Promoting healthy lifestyles in children • Acknowledgements • References
SummaryHealthy eating and being physically active are particularly important for children and adolescents. This is because their nutrition and lifestyle influence their wellbeing, growth and development. The nutritional requirements of children and adolescents are high in relation to their size because of the demands for growth, in addition to requirements for body maintenance and physical activity. Data from the National Diet and Nutrition Surveys (NDNS) show that the contribution of protein to food energy intake has increased between 1997 and 2008/2009 in both boys and girls aged 4-to-18-years. The contribution of fat to food energy intake has decreased in boys and girls aged 4-to-10-years, and in boys aged 11-to-18-years; saturated fatty acid intakes have decreased in boys and girls of both age groups. A decrease in the contribution of non-milk extrinsic sugars to food energy has been found in the younger age group, whereas it has hardly changed in the older age group. The most recent NDNS data (Year 1 of the NDNS Rolling Programme) on micronutrient intake showed that low intakes of almost all minerals and vitamin A in boys and girls in the older age group, and also of riboflavin and folate in girls in the older