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Sugar-coating it?

PHOTO: AP

LADEN WITH CALORIES Junk food has a cool image with the young crowd.

The pesticide residue controversy has definitely turned the spotlight on the cola giants but another issue of heated debate seems to have surfaced in its wake — junk food in schools and colleges. Nowadays the hip factor of a campus is often decided by the canteens. And to cash in on this, junk food has made a quiet entry into menus. Burgers, rolls, pastries, ice-creams, chips and of course colas can be found at almost all canteens of educational institutions today.

Though this issue is being fiercely fought between food companies and education authorities abroad, awareness is only just growing in India. Countries such as the U.K. have banned junk food in school cafeterias and students are not even allowed to bring them from outside. But enforcing the ban has proved difficult with a black market for junk food growing in campuses across the U.K.

ANAND SANKAR asks if there needs to be a similar strictly enforced ban in our campuses, particularly schools, in an era of worries over juvenile obesity and onset of diabetes in young adults.

In colleges I think you can let people make their own choice when it comes to food but in schools food habits need to be enforced.

Sharwari
Curriculum designer

Junk foods should be banned everywhere. They are a bad influence on our food culture. They affect our health, we should kick them out. Our native food is good.

Yogendran
Software engineer

For soft drinks, I think there needs to be one super-ban everywhere. If you let junk food into schools then children will eat only chips and fast food.

Neethi
In between jobs

It's going to be difficult to ban junk food, though the ban will be good. How many of us can get homemade food every day? It is difficult.

Rahul
Student

To some extent I think there needs to be some control on eating habits of young people. People are getting diseases at very young ages.

Mathew
Technical recruiter

Junk food is good stuff but definitely not in schools and colleges. We should encourage eating good and healthy home-cooked food. That is the way to go.

Santhosh

Mechanical engineer

It is very easy to get used to junk food and it is definitely not very healthy. We should ban it in schools and colleges to promote healthy food.

Pooja

Financial consultant

Junk food is definitely more expensive than healthy food so that should be a factor. And you get addicted to it. So it should definitely be banned.

Gouri

Financial consultant

PHOTOS: MURALI KUMAR K.

Yes, you should ban junk food and soft drinks in schools because children are not old enough to make choices for themselves.

Meera
Textile professional

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