Summary:
The National School Nutrition Policy seeks to ensure that children entering Jamaican educational facilities are exposed to good nutrition and healthy lifestyles.
Description:
The National School Nutrition Policy sets nutritional standards and guidelines. It also seeks to create healthy school environments. Considering this, healthy food options should be available and promoted. Moreover, the policy includes five priority areas, namely:
- the food services environment,
- provision of meals,
- the physical activity environment,
- health promotion and lifestyle habits development, and
- curriculum development.
The policy also recommends the regulation of the marketing of foods and beverages. In this sense, the document adopts the World Health Organization’s definition of “marketing” (2010), as it follows:
- “any form of commercial communication or message that is designed to, or has the effect of increasing the recognition, appeal and/or consumption of particular products and services. It comprises anything that acts to advertise or otherwise promote a product or service” (Glossary).
Furthermore, the policy states standards for processed and/or ultra-processed pre-packaged foods and snacks. For this purpose, it relies on the Pan American Health Organization’s nutrient profile model.