A group of pediatricians has written a letter to the Maharashtra government regarding mid-day meals in schools. It has been demanded that sugar-rich food items should be stopped. Maha Academy of Pediatrics has written a letter to the state’s Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar. It said that children can become victims of diabetes and obesity by consuming such food items. The letter cites the government’s general guideline of serving rice pudding to children 4 times a week under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman Yojana (formerly Mid-Day Meal Scheme).
The letter said, ‘The general guidelines state that 25 grams of sugar will be added to the food of students of class 1-5 and 45 grams of sugar will be added to the food of students of class 6-8.’ Dr. Ramgopal Chejara, President of Maha Shishu Rog Association, said, ‘We need 25 grams of sugar every day. There are two types of sugar. One is added sugar and the other is naturally present in food items. Students keep eating other foods throughout the day, which increases their sugar intake.’
‘Children can become victims of diabetes and obesity’
Dr. Ramgopal Chejara said, ‘Adding 25 grams and 45 grams of sugar in these meals can make children prone to diabetes and obesity. Our teams have visited schools. We have appealed to the government to stop providing such sweet foods.’ Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve also criticized the state government over this government guideline. He said in a post on the social media platform X that the state government thinks that the future generation is a factory to digest excess sugar. Danve, leader of opposition in the Legislative Council, said that the central government is banning ethanol production, while on the other hand school children are being given excess sugar.
