Abstract:
Schools are a key environment to teach children healthy hydration and form long-term positive beverage consumption behaviours. School-based interventions can reach large groups of children of all social classes, and messages learned may be taken home to impact behaviours in the family and elsewhere. As children often consume at least one meal or snack during a school day, promoting healthy beverage choices in these meals may reinforce their healthy nutrition knowledge and behaviour. Along these lines, having a policy on healthy school nutrition appears to help reduce SSB intake.
This policy toolkit aims to support the EU Action Plan on Childhood Obesity 2014-2020, particularly the area for action "Promote healthier environments, especially in schools and pre-schools." This area aims to establish children's health as a priority at schools and has as one of its objectives to "increase […] water intake in schools".
