British Targeting Pre-schoolers and Teens with Healthy Eating Initiatives

The Guardian reported recently that British programs are now beginning to focus on children under five years old to develop healthy eating habits early. Here's the story: A look at the kids' menu.

An earlier Observer article noted that the UK government is launching an advertising campaign linking healthy eating with success at sports, in an effort to increase student participation in school lunch programs: School meals campaign to target teenagers. This is in response to a study that reported that schools were serving healthier meals, but that in 19 of 26 schools, fewer students were eating school lunches because they didn't like them.

Jamie Oliver, the celebrity chef frequently credited with starting Britain's school food revolution (though in fact change was already happening in various places), blames underfunding and slow implementation for the poor uptake of healthier school meals, saying that kitchen staff training and kitchen facilities have not been put into place as they should have been. Oliver blames government for dinners failure.