It is an irony that schools, which should be inculcating good dietary habits, are serving these high-fat, high sugar, salt-laden and low-fibre meals. My daughter shrugs off my pleas to eat healthier fare, saying that the few alternatives do not taste as good. I can well understand her preferences: which teenager, left to her own devices, would volunteer to eat healthier but usually less tasty fare?

This problem is especially pronounced for secondary school students. When my daughter was in primary school, I could at least ensure that she ate a healthy lunch and dinner at home. Now that she's in Secondary 1, she has lunch in school as classes end late. The only home-cooked meal at dinner time does not adequately compensate for the school's unhealthy fare.

Schools must serve nutritious and tasty meals. It is no use serving healthier meals if the unhealthy ones taste better. I am not implying that students subsist like rabbits. Moderation and balance are the keys; we all need to indulge now and then.

To ensure a balanced diet, schools should implement a system such as a weekly food roster requiring students to sample all the varieties of canteen food and not just the ones they prefer.

Incentives for eating more often at the healthier stalls can be given to send the right message about good dietary habits. In the long run, students who learn to differentiate between wholesome and unhealthy food will carry this ingrained habit into their adult lives and eventually influence the next generation.

Maria Loh Mun Foong (Ms)