Plan to give kids free fruit

Dec 3 2008 by Andrew Newport, Paisley Daily Express

A NEW school fruit scheme proposed by Eurocrats can help make sure that young Buddies get their daily recommended allowance of fruit and vegetables – helping to beat child obesity.

The plan has been backed by Scottish Liberal Democrat MEP Elspeth Attwooll after it was initiated by Danish Liberal MEP Niels Busk and calls for the European Union to provide enough funding for every school pupil aged six to 10 to receive the equivalent of one piece of fruit every day.

The report outlines how EU level action and funding can enhance the different national programmes already in place in the member states.

It was overwhelmingly backed by the European Parliament in Strasbourg with 586 votes in favour, 47 against, and 41 abstentions.

Elspeth said: “This is an excellent report, and I’m delighted to see it receive such overwhelming backing.

“We must do all we can to bring fruit and vegetables into young people’s lives. If we can start with an apple a day for every pupil and fully engage teachers and parents we can then establish good habits from an early age.

“This would not only help tackle obesity but have wider positive effects on quality of life.

“Overall it is very positive. It would add tremendous value to existing national programmes across the EU.”

The World Health Organisation recommends that we consume over 400g of fruit and veg a day. Research shows that children’s intake falls below this.

There are an estimated 22million overweight children in the EU, 5million of whom are considered obese.

Scotland’s health problems are well documented, with it consistently faring poorly in comparison to other EU states.