Headteachers urged to stop youngsters leaving school to gorge on junk food

Pupils are risking their health by going out of school at lunchtime to buy burgers and kebabs from fast-food joints, according to a new survey.
Figures reveal youngsters from secondary school are turning up their taste buds at school meals and instead plumping for salt-ridden and high-fat takeway food.
A study by environmental health officers in 16 London boroughs analysed the types of food bought by children at lunchtime.
Officials stood in queues with the children to observe what they bought and later tested the food for its salt and fat content.  Many of the meals consisted of sausages, chips, deep-fried chicken and pies.
Following tests on nutritional value, it was found 54 out of the 73 most popular meals contained alarmingly high levels of salt and fat and were deemed very unhealthy.
Some of the fast foods had up to 7.4g of salt - current recommendations say 6g is the maximum for anyone over the age of 11.
Nearly all of the meals were classified as red or amber in the food labelling traffic light system.
The School Food Trust has told the Observer that it advocates headteachers implementing a lock-in policy at lunchtime and says parents should not give children money they know is being spent on takeaways.
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