According to the first report on children's nutritional health, produced by the association Helpcode with the Gaslini Institute in Genoa and the University of Genoa, one in three children in Italy is overweight or obese. The problem specifically affects 21 per cent of boys and 14 per cent of girls. This is in fact a global emergency that extends beyond Italy alone, and one to which many countries — such as Mexico, France, Ireland and Great Britain — have responded by introducing the "sugar tax", a levy on sugary drinks that on the one hand discourages families from buying these products, and on the other pushes the food industry to reformulate its recipes by reducing sugar content.

Food education: Slow Food's proposal

A recent attempt to introduce the sugar tax was also made in Italy, but it came to nothing. Tabled by the Five Star Movement as an amendment to the budget law, the tax on sugary drinks was rejected by the Lega party. It is against this backdrop that the Executive Committee of Slow Food Italia has put forward a proposal to the ministers of Health and Education: to incorporate food and sensory education into school curricula, starting with school canteens, in order to tackle childhood obesity and overweight. "The sugar tax could have been one way of approaching the issue, even if not a definitive solution," the association comments. "In any case, whatever measures are put in place must form part of a broader, more articulated project with education at its core."

Less sugar, but also less chemicals and fats

Furthermore, according to Slow Food, sugar would not be the only substance to target, especially if it were to be replaced with other substances: "The question of sweeteners, whether natural or artificial, is another unavoidable issue. Maximum daily amounts are established for these substances, and in the case of artificial sweeteners their consumption is even discouraged for pregnant women and children under the age of 12," explained Giuseppe Orefice, of the Executive Committee. "We won't go into the merits of the specific measure, but we highlight on the one hand the need to act in order to offer healthy food with less added sugars, chemicals and fats, especially to children. And on the other, the need for the school system to invest in education and in canteens."

Seasonality, sustainability and local produce

The association's proposal is therefore structured around several points: returning to food and sensory education in order to accustom children's palates to naturally sweet flavours, incorporating into school curricula programmes that allow younger children to recognise the authentic tastes of foods, gain experience with the seasonality of produce, and learn to assess quality. This would begin with a school canteen system whose procurement specifications look not only at economic considerations but also at the concepts of sustainability and connection with the local area, as well as giving priority to local produce from small farms and artisan producers.