'Dump the junk food'.Byline: Les Reid SPORTS centres in Coventry need to shape up by offering healthier food than vending machine snacks which are ignoringgovernmenthealth policy, a councillor claims. City councillor Ed Ruane (Labour) says he is shocked at the bad food on offer at many of these supposed beacons of health. The councillor for Henley ward said: "Vending machines in our sports centres across Coventry are failing dismally to provide healthy options, despite the Government's health policy identifying diet and nutrition as one of six key priority areas for improving public health. "Much of the food on sale is of poor nutritional quality, dominated by the fatty snacks, fizzy fizz intr.v. fizzed, fizz·ing, fizz·es To make a hissing or bubbling sound; effervesce. n. 1. A hissing or bubbling sound. 2. Effervescence. 3. An effervescent beverage. drinks and confectionery confectionery, delicacies or sweetmeats that have sugar as a principal ingredient, combined with coloring matter and flavoring and often with fruit or nuts. In the United States it is usually called candy, in Great Britain, sweets or boiled sweets. that have been banned from schools." "Of all places, you'd expect sports centres to be promoting healthy eating and healthy choices." He isurging the city's sports trusts to carry out a joint review with NHS NHS abbr. National Health Service NHS (in Britain) National Health Service Coventry to measure the nutritional value of the food, and introduce a selection of healthy food. Tackling obesity is costing the NHS in Coventry and Warwickshire pounds 10 million a year and is rising, through the cost of treatment and lifestyle programmes to teach people the benefits of a good diet and exercise. The West Midlands West Midlands, former metropolitan county, central England. Created in the 1974 local government reorganization, the county embraced the Birmingham conurbation and comprised seven metropolitan districts: Walsall, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, Birmingham, Solihull, has one of the worst records on obes-ity in the country. In Coventry, one in four adults are said to be obese and one in five 11-year-olds. Coun Ruane said: "Knowing how much money NHS Coventry is spending each year in tackling obesity and subsidising fitness classes in some of these sports centres, it's crazy when you look at the sale of chocolate bars, crisps and fizzy drinks." He said Coventry Sports Centre sports centre (Brit) sport n → centre sportif sports centre sport n → Sportzentrum nt in Fairfax Street has "toddler-height "dispensing machines for sweets right next to a toddlers' play area, and said the cafeteria looks more like a tuck shop with the amount of sweets on display. He added: "Even on the outside of Coventry Sports Centre we have unhealthy associations and mixed messages, with a billboard sign of McDonald's french fries and below a keep fit message." Since September 2007, vending machines in schools have to stick to tough regulations with salt, fat and sugar content restricted. CAPTION(S): SHOCK...Ed Ruane |
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