Main » 2012 » October » 29 » The government has backed down on proposals to scrap free milk for children aged under five.
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The government has backed down on proposals to scrap free milk for children aged under five.
The government has backed down on proposals to scrap free milk for children aged under five.
Number 10 rejected the idea The government has backed down on proposals to scrap free milk for children aged under five. Health Minister Anne Milton insisting the policy was "outdated", "ineffective" and too expensive.
For Prime Minister David Cameron, it should save him being labelled a "milk-snatcher" like his predecessor(предшесвенник) Margaret Thatcher.
But is this political move based on sound science?
The Nursery Milk scheme(схема), which allows children in approved day care to receive 189ml or a third of a pint of milk free each day up until their fifth birthday, dates back to the wartime years of 1940.
The idea was to give children an extra nutritional boost(повышение) at a time when food was in short supply and rationed.
But today, food is in plentiful supply(в изобилии) and childhood obesity(ожирение)is on the rise. Continue reading the main story "Start Quote
In terms of building bones it's absolutely key”
Dr Sarah Jarvis GP
Ms Milton has said there is "no good evidence" that free school milk improves the health of our nation's children.
She believes the £50m scheme should be scrapped and instead low-income families should be given extra vouchers to buy not just milk, but fruit and vegetables too.
The government, however, maintains that free milk for under fives should stay.
So why is milk deemed so important for children?
Part of the reason is that it is what experts call "a nutrient dense food", which means it provides a large amount of nutrients essential for growth, yet with relatively few calories.
Do you like milk? Is milk a healthy product? How do you think how many calories in milk?
