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QINGDAO TODAY
在线翻译:
szdaily -> Speak Shenzhen -> 
Japanese kids top nutrition lists
    2019-10-21  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

Japan manages a rare feat for a developed country when it comes to feeding its children — high scores for nutrition but very low obesity rates. One major key lies in school lunches.

A landmark report by the United Nation’s children agency UNICEF released last week shows Japan topping the charts for childhood health indicators, with low rates of infant mortality and few underweight children.

It also manages the lowest incidence of childhood obesity among the 41 developed countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and European Union.

Experts say there are various factors at work, including a health-conscious society and regularly mandated checkups for children, but a nationwide school lunch program also plays a key role.

“School lunches with menus that are created by nutritionists are provided to all primary schools and the majority of junior high schools throughout Japan,” said Mitsuhiko Hara, a pediatrician and professor at Tokyo Kasei Gakuin University.

The lunches are mandatory — no packed lunches allowed — and while they are not free for most, they are heavily subsidized.

Each meal is designed to have around 600-700 calories balanced between carbohydrates, meat or fish and vegetables.

One sample meal served to children in Japan’s Gunma gives a taste: rice with grilled fish and a spinach and sprout dish, served with miso soup with pork, alongside milk and dry prunes.

“School lunch is designed to provide nutrition that tends to be lacking in meals at home,” said education ministry official Mayumi Ueda. “I think it contributes to the nutritional balance necessary for children.”

Unlike the cafeteria system operated in some Western countries, Japanese school lunches are usually served in the classroom. Pupils frequently dish out the food to each other and clean up the room afterwards.

There is no choice of meal, and no concessions offered for vegetarians, or anyone with religious restrictions, with members of either group being few and far between in largely homogenous Japan.

The lunches are conceived not only to feed children, but to teach them.

“There’s also a daily broadcast at school to explain the nutritional elements contained in the school lunch of the day, and this is a good way to educate kids,” Hara said.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【死亡率】sǐwánglǜ mortality death rate

【稀少的】xīshǎo de few and far between rare or seldom-seen

日本在保障儿童摄入充足营养的同时肥胖发病率极低,这一成就在发达国家中并不多见,其秘诀在于学校午餐。

联合国儿童基金会上周发表的报告显示,日本儿童健康状况全球排名第一,婴儿死亡率低、体重不足人数非常少。

日本也是经济合作与发展组织和欧盟的41个发达国家中儿童肥胖率最低的国家。

专家指出,这一成绩由多种因素促成,包括日本人特别关注健康、定期组织儿童体检,而全日本范围内的学校午餐计划也起到重要作用。

东京家政学院大学教授、儿科医生原光彦说:“日本所有小学和大部分初中都提供由营养师制定菜单的午餐。”

午餐是学校强制提供的,不允许学生自带饭食。大部分午餐不免费,但有高额补贴。

每顿午餐含大约600到700卡路里,碳水化合物、肉或鱼、以及蔬菜均衡搭配。

群马县的学校午餐就是一个范例,包含米饭、烤鱼、菠菜豆芽、猪肉味噌汤、牛奶和梅干。

文部省官员上田真由美说:“学校午餐要能够补充在家吃饭可能摄入不足的营养成分。”

与一些西方国家的自助餐厅不同,日本学校的午餐通常在教室里供应。学生们经常互相分发食物,吃完后将教室打扫干净。

午餐没有其他选择,也没有给素食者和信仰宗教儿童的专餐。绝大多数日本人属于同一民族,以上两类儿童都非常少见。

而且,学校午餐不仅是为了让孩子们吃饭,也是为了教育他们。

原光彦说:“学校每天会广播通知,向孩子们解释每日午餐的营养成分。这是教育孩子的一种好办法。”

(chinadaily.com.cn)

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