School Cashless Systems help reduce childhood obesity
Recently, health officials have said “Britain needs to go on a diet”, releasing new official calorie guidelines to help the nation lose weight.
According to PHE, “too many children and most adults are overweight or obese, suffering consequences from bullying and low self-esteem in childhood, to type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers as adults”. Depending on their age, overweight and obese boys consume between 140–500 calories too many each day and for girls it is 160–290, when compared to those with healthy body weights. Adults consume on average 200–300 calories too many each day.
Commenting on the release, Duncan Selbie, chief executive of PHE, said: “Britain needs to go on a diet. Children and adults routinely eat too many calories, and it’s why so many are overweight or obese.”
Synel UK, cashless payments solution can make catering as easy and convenient as possible for your school. Students can use Synel system by using biometrics, smart cards and PIN access. At the heart of Synel biometric cashless system is a software program which recognises each individual customer, holds individual cash balances and records expenditure and cash received. It also records where and when money is spent and on what food and helps the reduction of queues at lunchtime.
Packed lunches very rarely meet the same nutritional standards as school meals. Therefore, it is very important for schools to encourage the use of school catering.
Moreover, students who come from low income families, are usually those who need more help with their diet. These students can often be eligible for free school meals. The number of children who are eligible for such a benefit and don’t use can be daunting. The social stigma of Free Schools Meals stops parents and students from claiming it. Synel Cashless Catering system helps such students receive their school meal in the same way, as all other students as they are provided with complete anonymity.
Another advantage of the cashless systems is that parents can select their child’s healthy meal in advance. Synel cashless can be accessed, checked and topped up from home allowing parents to have peace of mind. They will not have to worry about loss of money, theft, bullying or unhealthy meal choices anymore.
Improving childrens diets and tackling obesity is a complicated issue that requires joined efforts. Cashless School Catering is not enough, but it can be a significant step towards addressing childhood obesity.
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