Zhang Junya snack noodles for lunch? Consumers' Foundation: 15% of high school girls eat lunch poorly

In March of this year, the Consumers' Foundation cooperated with the Ministry of Education to conduct a dietary questionnaire survey targeting female high school students nationwide, collecting as many as 9640 responses. The survey showed that nearly 15% of female students had inadequate nutritional intake at lunch, eating only cookies, steamed buns, fried chicken and other foods to stave off hunger. Liu Ying-mei, director of the School Health Research Center at National Yang-Ming University, found during campus visits that some female students ate Chang Chun-ya snack noodles as their lunch, or even skipped lunch entirely. Such poor dietary habits not only fail to achieve weight-loss results, but may also affect the secretion of female hormones.

15% of High School Girls Eat Recklessly at Lunch, 40% of Girls Are Dieting

The rising proportion of dual-income families and greater consumer independence are the main reasons students commonly eat out. The Consumers' Foundation said this survey found that 80% of female high school students nationwide chose school-provided lunches or brought their own lunch boxes, while the remaining roughly 15% of female students ate recklessly and could not consume rice, vegetables and meat together at lunch.

The questionnaire also showed that 40% of female students had been on a weight-loss plan in the past six months, and 20% of students did not eat lunch every day. Liu Ying-mei explained that many girls often have a misconception, believing that not eating can achieve slimming results, but this is actually not the case. Female high school students in particular are in a period of development. Research shows that if breakfast is skipped, the body loses 11% of its protective effect, and the rate for skipping lunch is 14%. This instead prevents weight-loss results, and not eating at noon also affects academic learning or physical training.

Liu Ying-mei said that scientific reports have already pointed out that if a woman's body fat is below 18%, it will affect the body's secretion of fat-soluble female hormones, causing menstrual irregularities, so an unbalanced diet will absolutely affect physical health.

Consumers' Foundation: Schools Have a Responsibility to Provide Healthier Nutritious Lunches

In response, the Consumers' Foundation calls on parents and schools to work together to prepare balanced meals for children. School hot food departments have a responsibility to provide healthier nutritious lunches, or to purchase equipment for steaming lunch boxes, guiding children to bring lunch boxes from home to eat at school. Liu Ying-mei suggested that schools might also restrict the sale of snacks, instant noodles and other fast foods at the hot food department at noon, indirectly guiding children toward a balanced diet.

Lu Yun, chairman of the Consumers' Foundation, said that the appearances of stars and models shaped by the media often easily become objects of imitation for female high school students, further leading students to develop mistaken ideas about their ideal body weight. But a healthy woman does not mean she must be thin, and reversing this value judgment still requires the joint efforts of the general public.