Japan manages a rare feat for a developed country when it comes to feeding its children -- high scores for nutrition but very low obesity rates. One major key? School lunches.
Experts say there are various factors at work, including a health-conscious society and regularly mandated check-ups for children, but a nationwide school lunch programme also plays a key role. Each meal is designed to have around 600-700 calories balanced between carbohydrates, meat or fish and vegetables.
Unlike the cafeteria system operated in some Western countries, Japanese school lunches are usually served in the classroom.There is no choice of meal, and no concessions offered for vegetarians, or anyone with religious restrictions, with members of either group being few and far between in largely homogenous Japan.
School lunches in Japan date back to as early as 1889, when rice balls and grilled fish were provided for children living in poverty in northern Yamagata prefecture. The results are clear in the statistics: Japan has one of the world's lowest rates of infant mortality, and the rate of children aged five to 19 who are overweight or obese is 14.42 percent, far lower than most other developed countries.