Tester
- Before reading the research what was your perception of white bread?
I think I've always thought of it as being about as nutritionally beneficial as cardboard really. I still buy it, ostensibly for the children, though I do sneak the odd slice every now and then. But it's something I'm aware is thought of as being almost the 'lesser' option.
- Having looked at this research and key findings from Leeds university (based on a study of 2,500 children), have your perceptions changed at all? If so how? If not, why not?
My little internal alarm went off a bit when one of the first things on th e paper was 'further analysis was commissioned by warburtons.' It made me question just how neutral and unbiased this research could be. The fact that the data was collected over 24 hours also made me a bit wary, it's not very exhaustive. I think war buttons have probably cherry picked the good points and slightly brushed over the bad. But, what company doesn't? It's not really changed my perceptions hugely.
- Which, if any, of the key research findings really resonate with you and why?
The reason I signed up to possibly be picked was because my 5 year old son has just changed from school meals to packed lunches. We're not huge consumers of bread really, I buy a half size warburtons loaf that generally does me and 3 small dc for the school week. But this change has meant an extra loaf a week and I wanted to have an idea of what that might mean. I'm not thrilled about the impact on his salt and fat levels, fat in particular surprises me. But I know that reasonably he has a good balanced diet, and completely anecdotally, does seem to have more energy at the end of the day than when he was eating hot lunches. Wether this is just down to him not being in such a rush to get out and play after having queued for a hot meal and thus leaving half of it, or merely the fact he's more settled in school is anyone's guess.
- Do you think white bread gets a bad reputation or not? Why do you think this is?
Yes I do think it has a bad reputation. It almost feels like empty pointless calories, when whole meal or seeded offers so much more nutritionally. But I know of very few people, children in particular, who prefer those options.
- The research shows "children's bread consumption increases intakes of some nutrients which have been proven to be beneficial for long term health, including carbohydrate, starch, fibre, calcium, iron and selenium" how aware, if at all, of this were you before reading the research?
I knew of this, though the research doesn't specify which kind of bread has actually been eaten at all! Eating most forms of carbohydrate would offer similar results I would think.
- Do you give your DCs packed lunches for school? If so, how often, if at all does the packed lunch include a sandwich and which type of bread do they usually have? Do you think you're likely to change this after reading the research or not? If so why? If not why not?
Yes, as stated my 5 year old son had a packed lunch, and it includes a sandwich using white warburtons small loaf every day. I don't think that'll change as I like that the bread is a manageable size for him and he's quite set on his ways. My 9yo daughter would be more willing to branch out should she choose a packed lunch, perhaps with some cold pasta or a salad.
- To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following: "Parents have a tough job when it comes to children's health and nutrition"? Please explain.
Parents have a tough job full stop. I think most weeks there's something we're meant to feel guilty about and especially nowadays we're meant to be experts in everything - nutrition, education, you name it, there's the feeling that you should always strive to be that little bit better. With changing guidelines and fussy children it was be difficult to know what's best really. I think in a way my children have almost benefitted from my long since recovered eating disorder. I'm so careful not to try not to I still food issues that hopefully they have a pretty easygoing attitude to food. Everything in moderation is a lesson hard learned for me, but one that seems to be working for my family. I see other parents trying to micro manage every aspect of their children's lives, and to an extent that's great. But I think the best thing is to support them in making halt hu choices, rather than force them. Ime that tends to push children to see certain foods as every desirable. So in short, I'm not going to lose any sleep over an extra loaf a week.
Thanks for the opportunity, I did find it very interesting.