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Home My WebLink AboutOnce-slice-or-two pizza debate misses the point, say diet experts - Ottawa Citizen - 09/25/2017 - Ottawa Citizen - 09/25/20179/26/2017 Once -slice -or -two pizza debate misses the point, say diet experts I Ottawa Citizen Once -slice -or -two pizza debate misses the point, say diet experts A-1, MEGAN GILLIS, POSTMEDIA More frxrnnIMgggLr �iilllliis_IP'2! tirmna: 4 (HTTP://OTTAWACITIZEN.COM/AUTHOR/MEGANGILLISPOSTMEDIA) Published on:: Selpteirnbeir 2 a, 2017 1I ILast Uylpdated:: Selpteirnbeir 25, 2017 4:47 P11M IEIDT Fi1;,,7 DANIEL ACKERIBLOOMBERG An Orleans Catholic school is getting some spicy responses - from "what nonsense" to "just dumb" and "none of their business" - for limiting kids to a single slice at weekly fundraiser pizza lunches. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/once-sl ice -or -two -pizza -debate -misses -the -poi nt-say-d iet-experts 1/6 9/26/2017 Once -slice -or -two pizza debate misses the point, say diet experts I Ottawa Citizen But some experts say the social media debate misses the point when it comes to kids, fast food and schools. "The whole controversy is a bit ridiculous," said Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, the founder of the Bariatric Medical Institute and an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Ottawa. Freedhoff said we should really be thinking about how often kids are offered junk at school, not how much. "The issue is not how many slices kids order at a weekly school pizza day, the issue is weekly school pizza days," he said. "I think that arguing about how many slices are too many ignores the fact that what we have is schools teaching kids, and by extension their parents, that weekly fast food pizza is a normal, acceptable and useful part of life" He's critical of junk -food fundraising and said too often parents are told that it's simply up to them to say no when kids will feel left out if they're the only ones not participating. ADVERTISEMENT "In the context of a society where children are being more and more frequently diagnosed with chronic diet -relatable diseases, maybe schools should be doing more to teach kids that fast food is a rare treat and not a weekly norm," Freedhoff said. The pizza debate began when an unidentified parent at Convent Glen Catholic School in Orleans complained to the CBC that students are now limited to just one slice at weekly pizza lunches. However, "except for the parent that originally had concerns, no other parent has complained about the food options at the school;' said Mardi de Kemp, a spokeswoman for the local Catholic board who confirmed Monday that the school hasn't changed its decision. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/once-sl ice -or -two -pizza -debate -misses -the -poi nt-say-d iet-experts 2/6 9/26/2017 Once -slice -or -two pizza debate misses the point, say diet experts I Ottawa Citizen Registered dietitian Barbara Khouzam frames it as food quality over quantity. "I think the issue is not about the number of slices;" she said, noting that if only pizza is offered, then students — who don't come in standard sizes — may need two or three to satisfy their hunger. That might not be so much of a problem if kids are offered a healthful pizza made of wholesome, fresh ingredients with a variety of salads and cut up veggies and fruit and can have seconds if they're still hungry, said Khouzam, the former director of the University of Ottawa's nutrition program. Rather than worry about how many pizza slices, Khouzam said parents should advocate for proper places for kids to eat at school, the time to eat mindfully — her grandchildren have 20 minutes to eat lunch in silence — and support from pediatric dietitians. It's all needed to "reverse the 'I hate vegetables' marketing by the junk food industry," Khouzam said, arguing that we need to invest in kids' health when billions of dollars in research has shown they will have less healthy lives than today's adults. The principal at the Orleans school works with the elected school council and community to offer "healthy lunch options" at fundraisers, de Kemp said. This year, it's pizza and pita sandwiches. "In this case, the school council and school administration agreed that one slice of pizza is a reasonable approach for their community;" de Kemp said. "On voluntary 'pizza days,' parents are not prohibited from sending other snacks and lunch items to school" De Kemp said the board is aiming to provide a "healthy learning environment" for kids using the Ministry of Education's policy on food in schools, which has been in effect since 2011, and schools take a "reasonable approach to encourage good eating habits." A spokeswoman for the ministry said the province has a policy on the allowable nutritional content of a serving size that can be packaged and sold as one "meal" in schools. "The policy does not restrict the number of servings per child;" Heather Irwin said. "Any decisions concerning which food and beverages are sold within individual schools are local decisions." TRENDING STORIES 0 http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/once-sl ice -or -two -pizza -debate -misses -the -poi nt-say-d iet-experts 3/6 9/26/2017 Once -slice -or -two pizza debate misses the point, say diet experts I Ottawa Citizen Comments City of Ottawa rightfully restructuring water and sewe bills, researchers say The City of Ottawa is making the right choice by changing the structure of water and sewer bills, a... (Read M dire < Previous We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page (http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/story.html?id=7195492) for more information. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/once-sl ice -or -two -pizza -debate -misses -the -poi nt-say-d iet-experts 4/6 9/26/2017 Once -slice -or -two pizza debate misses the point, say diet experts I Ottawa Citizen 33 Comments Sort by Top Add a comment... Torii Hamilton • South Carleton High School iral, If they are so concerned about being unhealthy, maybe they should not have pizza every week. Make it a monthly thing and let the kids have 2 slices. Like • Reply • 20 • 15 hrs W �J Jasmyn Goulet O'Brien Or include options with vegetables. As it is, it's cheese or pepperoni and that's it. Like • Reply • 22 mins ,m. � � Amanda Veryl The unfortunate thing is that the school uses these pizza days to generate revenue. They are the ones going to lose out in the end The food police in schools really need to stuff it. Like • Reply • 17 • 15 hrs Tessy Broeren This is bull!!! Do they want to raise the kids too?! Telling us what kids can or cannot eat ... what they can drink or not drink .... what they can snack on or not ... what playground equipment they can play on or not! Kids are not kids anymore!!! They're little robots that must listen to others besides parents controlling their world. Boy, I'm glad I grew up in the 60's, 70's, and our children grew up in the 80's and 90's. I feel for our grandchildren!!! What a controlling world we live in!!! Like • Reply • 6 • 14 hrs Amanda Young • Ottawa, Ontario Schools teachers parent council have no business policing what is eaten at lunch. The only time they need to intervene is if a child has no food or is being sent with cake and chips. Like • Reply • 6 • 14 hrs Kristina Singh Outrageous, each child has a different fueling requirement, just like adults. Parents know their kids needs best. Having special treats in their lunch once in a while is also no ones business Like • Reply • 5 • 19 hrs • Edited -„✓ arJ,, 10 IYf0rin"'Irt,,Ift Facebook Comments Plugin http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/once-sl ice -or -two -pizza -debate -misses -the -poi nt-say-d iet-experts 5/6 9/26/2017 Once -slice -or -two pizza debate misses the point, say diet experts Ottawa Citizen 'Iuld r';]"A c), , ",III' I,," I I' I , I' I /Ar r'fl () "J I, I /J ,I 'I c,-) http://ottawacitizen.com/news/loca1-news/once-slice-or-two-pizza-debate-misses-the-point-say-diet-experts 6/6 /!-- This code was added to remove the metadata from document view in Weblink -->