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The decision by the Ministry of Education (MoE) to link nutritional standards of food offered in schools with academic accreditation in the near future is a welcome step.
The standards will be applied initially as a pilot programme before being rolled out to all schools across the country, both private and public.
"We realised that many public schools serve food and drinks with very low nutritional value," said Dr Osama Alalla, a researcher at the MoE.
But convincing students about the importance of sticking to healthy eating habits will take more than forcing schools to abide by a certain rule.
Schools can stress the importance of a healthy lifestyle by bringing suitable changes in the curricula. Parents also have to come on board since the concept of a healthy diet will hardly make an impact if it stays confined to the school's walls. Only a joint effort would ensure that goals are met.
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