School dinners around the world

In Britain there has been much debate about the healthiness or more particularly the unhealthiness of school lunches.

Education Secretary Ruth Kelly has promised to toughen the minimum nutritional standards of school meals in England.

But at present, a snapshot survey of pupils' eating habits showed that 40% of pupils had eaten chips that day at school and 85% had eaten sweets, cakes or biscuits.

BBC News takes a look at what pupils in a selection of other countries are eating during their lunch breaks.

FRANCE BY BBC PARIS CORRESPONDENT CAROLINE WYATT

In a country where food is virtually the national religion, school meals are naturally a subject of intense interest, not least as the nation worries about the rising obesity rate among its children, especially the under 15s.

Many schools already employ their own nutritionist, who works with a parents' committee to ensure lunches provide a healthy, balanced diet.

Much more is spent per meal than in Britain, with a French school lunch costing anything from 1.50 to 4 a head, depending on region. Poorer parents pay only a portion of the total.

And there's no pandering to children's love of pizzas, burgers or chips; these are adult menus served in child size portions, as the French believe good eating habits start early.

On the menu this week in a typical Parisian primary school in the 11th arrondissement is a mouth watering menu: a starter of grapefruit, followed by grilled chicken with green beans, then a cheese course and rice pudding for dessert. The day's snack is a tangerine.

One day a week, chips are on offer but with a salmon lasagne, rather than sausage or burgers, while Thursday's pizza is served with a healthy green salad.

The meal is accompanied by plain water, rather than fizzy drinks. There is no choice, so children must either eat up or go home for lunch.

Yet France is still worried by the rapid growth of childhood obesity.

According to the International Obesity Task Force, part of the World Health Organisation, 36% of Italian children are overweight, compared with 22% in Britain and a larger than expected 19% in France a hefty increase for a country that has always prided itself on its healthy eating habits.

Obesity already affects 15% of French under 15s and, by 2020, the figure is predicted to red bottom shoes rise to 25%, if current trends continue.

As a result, vending machines are not allowed in primary schools and will be banned in secondary schools from September this year meaning an estimated 8,000 will have to be removed from state schools.

And while French schools may be offering healthy meals, what happens outside school or even at home is another matter.

The traditional, balanced French meal is now eaten by only 20% of the population and McDonalds and other fast food outlets are as popular with French children as with their British or American counterparts.

One million people eat at one of the 1,009 McDonald's restaurants in France every day, and the French now also drink an average of 42 litres, or 74, pints of cola per person each year.

These days, the average French person consumes 34kg of sugar annually, compared with 23kg just five years ago while the under 15s consume most of all, a frightening 39kg per year each, most of it from snacks, sweets and soft drinks.

A French government commission has made healthy eating such a priority that primary schools offer nutrition classes, teaching children the lessons about healthy eating that their parents used to learn at home.

USA BY THE BBC'S KEVIN ANDERSON IN WASHINGTON

Walk into almost any school cafeteria in the United States and the students will be grousing about the "mystery meat" and the pile of green stuff on their plates that once in a former life was spinach.

Students christian louboutin shoes replica don't like the food, which means as soon as they can drive, they head off campus to the nearest fast food franchise.

And critics say that louboutin shoes replica school lunches contribute to the fattening of the United States.

The humble school lunch has had more than its fair share of controversy in the US.

Attempts to limit the amount of fat by limiting the servings of French fries have only been met by student rebellion.

And of course, the most controversial moment came when Ronald Reagan's budget director, David Stockman, proposed classifying cheap red bottom shoes ketchup as a vegetable to meet dietary requirements while also slashing costs.

Both federal and local officials have been trying to improve the school lunch programme, so it is more nutritious for students and the food is more liked by them.