Junk food gets boot in soccer challenge

10:50am Tuesday 15th January 2008

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PRIMARY school pupils who give junk food the boot could find themselves enjoying lunch with some of the healthiest eaters in town - players from Bolton Wanderers.

Youngsters at 10 schools in Bolton have been split into "football teams" and are now locked in battle to prove they are top of the good food league.

They will score "goals" for lunch boxes packed with healthy snacks or if they choose nutritious options from the school canteen. Their performance will be checked by "referees" at each school And the team which scores the most goals will create a a healthy lunch to be served at their school for a week.

At the end of four weeks, the names of all the teams will be put into a hat and the team pulled out first will dine at the Reebok Stadium with players.

The Football Challenge, a joint effort between Bolton Council, Bolton Primary Care Trust and Wanderers, kicked-off yesterday to encourage children to eat healthily and educate families on how to put together a healthy lunchbox for youngsters.

On hand to support the pupils at Masefield Primary School in Little Lever yesterday was Wanderers footballer Nicky Hunt.

He said: "Everyone knows the benefits of eating healthily and it is important for our club to back this. What children learn at a young age stays with them. I knew I wanted to be a footballer and have been eating good food since the age of ten, but eating well helps everyone. Of course, I still have the odd treat and there is nothing wrong with that."

Children at Masefield are determined to top the league.

Dillon Robertson, aged nine, said: "We are going to win. I eat junk food less than once a month, so we are at a good starting position.

"Junk food is tasty and is nice when it is given as a treat."Hannah Nuttall, also aged nine, said: "I know what is healthy and unhealthy. Good food is fruit and vegetables, and bad food is full of sugar and fat.

What we find is if we eat healthily we have more energy and concentrate more in class."

Headteacher Claire Hope said:"We are working for the Healthy Schools Award and this fits in perfectly because eating well is part of that.

"The pupils want to do well because most of them are Bolton Wanderers fans."

Other primary schools taking part are Bowness in Little Leve; Mytham in Little Lever; St Peter's Smithills Dean CE; The Valley, Halliwell; Egerton CP; Sharples; St Thomas of Canterbury RC, Bolton; Lever Edge, Great Lever, and Horwich Parish CE.

Lunchtime: the good and the bad

The ideal lunch for a child aged 9 to 12 would contain:

Energy 585 calories.
Fat 23.7g.
Saturated fat 7.5g.
Carbohydrate 81.3g.
Salt 1.83g.

Typical healthy lunch

Apple: 53 calories.
Pure orange juice: 40 calories.
Cereal bar: 110 calories.
Chicken salad:
257 calories.

Unhealthy lunch

Chocolate: 130 to 300 calories.
Soft drink: 139 calories.
Crisps: 184 calories
Cheeseburger: 379 calories