Junk Out, Nutrition In: Transforming School Meals
- Oct. 24, 2025, 5:12 p.m.
In Pune, at Symbiosis Primary School, kitchen staff serve hot meals such as curries, salads, and khichdis very fresh, assuring the right mix of proteins, fibre, and carbohydrates. The menu keeps off sandwiches, burger buns, poori-sabzi, colas, and bread pakoras. Nutritionists plan and observe the school menu, handling a no-tolerance policy for fast and junk food items, even during birthdays and festive occasions. “We limit sugar, fat, and salt in the mid-day meal programme as these influence food addictions, and eating behaviour”, says the academic admin at the Faculty of Medical & Health Science, Symbiosis International University, Dr Rajiv Yeravdekar, who has worked more than 25 years in promotive and preventive healthcare.
In the 1990s, he recognised the need for school meals for students’ growth during teacher-parent meetings. He noticed that many parents complained about students skipping breakfast and hurrying to school on empty stomachs. Most working mothers accepted that it was difficult to cook fresh meals early in the morning. Students frequently carried leftovers or had fast foods such as wafers, chips, bakes, sandwiches, etc. These refined carbohydrates affect blood sugar quickly, leaving students very hungry by 2 PM, making them take a heavy lunch at home.
1. Planning A Habit-Formation
“We understood these routines could harmfully affect students’ health conditions. So, we instituted a scientifically planned mid-day meal programme at Symbiosis schools in Nashik and Pune in 1999 to offer each student freshly cooked, nutritionally balanced hot meals,” Dr Rajiv states. Co-operating with nutritionists and paediatricians, the school carried out a 5-year SYM-KEM study in Pune, showing that those students in the programme developed endurance, flexibility, and strength.
The study discovered that students’ waist circumference, a key factor of metabolic risk, was minimised compared to peers. The waist circumference measures visceral fat, which creates proteins and hormones that can cause insulin resistance, reduce appetite-regulating leptin, and inflammation. Surplus visceral fat enhances the risk of chronic disease in adulthood.
However, the students’ overall BMI did not vary dramatically; the study affirmed that school-related nutrition programmes can positively transform students’ lifestyle and fitness habits,” Dr Rajiv adds.
2. School-Based Treatments are Counted
Studies in India reveal that school-based health education and nutrition can enhance dietary behaviour. The waist circumference slightly reduces the BMI, or body fat percentage, in some cases. For instance, a study in 4 Puducherry schools noticed substantial reductions in calorie intake and waist size over 9 months, with protein intake increasing among children.
Overweight children had their eating habits and waist size assessed at the beginning of the study. They attended two sessions about 45 minutes, more than 2 days, in the school auditorium. Researchers explained the necessity of a balanced diet, recommending vitamins, minerals, and more protein, high-calorie foods in session 1 and highlighting obesity’s risks in session 2. Notice boards showed pamphlets with tips, posters on healthy eating, and sample menus were distributed as well. Researchers conducted 9 months of sessions, twice a month, to reinforce healthy intake habits.
3. Nutrition Initiatives Supported by Experts
Nutrition experts welcomed the government’s idea to develop sugar boards in CBSE schools to increase awareness. Tejas Limaye, a clinical nutritionist at KEM Hospital, Pune, advises that schools should hold awareness programmes for students, display obesity infographics, run healthy tiffin and recipe contests, offer healthy snacks, track weight, height, and waist, present trends in report cards, and counsel parents as well. She also advocates rewarding daily PT attendance, active commuting like walking, cycling, and a healthy BMI.
A bariatric surgeon, Dr Aparna Govil Bhasker, emphasises avoiding fast food marketing in schools. “More schools discourage junk food, but that alone won’t restrict India’s increasing childhood obesity issue. We require regulations to make healthy foods affordable and accessible, counter social media ads, and limit marketing campaigns. Everywhere, fast food is cheaper, leading to obesity in lower-income groups as well. The young population in the country could face higher chronic illness in the future and depend on hospitals if we don’t act quickly,” she warns.
4. Childhood Obesity in India
Obesity affects 380 M children and adults worldwide, particularly in low & middle- income countries. WHO’s information reveals that obese and overweight children below the age of 5 rose from 32 M to 41 M in two decades. India could account for 11% of the world’s childhood obesity burden by 2030, according to Global Health (2023) and Clinical Epidemiology. UNICEF alerts that obesity now exceeds underweight as a type of malnutrition, affecting one in ten adolescents and school children, increasing the life- threatening diseases globally.
