Are the foods and drinks in your school canteen healthy?

An Assessment of the Nutritional Value of the Foods and Drinks sold at the School

Canteens of De La Salle Araneta University

Roland S. Cartagena
De La Salle Araneta University
rolandcartagena@yahoo.com

(Ms. Tricia Mae Waje)

(October 14, 2020)

(11 – St. Margaret)

(Holy Angel Universty)

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 The title of this article is “Are the foods and drinks in your school canteen healthy? An
Assessment of the Nutritional Value of the Foods and Drinks sold at the School Canteens of De
La Salle Araneta University.” This journal article was presented at the DLSU Research Congress
2014 and was written by Roland S. Cartagena. The study aims to assess the nutritional value of
the foods and drinks sold and offered by canteens found inside the campus of DLSAU.

The purpose of the article was to identify the nutritional content of the foods and
beverages that are being sold by the three (3) school canteens of DLSAU. The method used in
obtaining the data of the study is through ocular field observations. Using the 2010 Australian
Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents and the 2012 Nutritional Guidelines for
Filipinos, the researcher categorized the foods and drinks as healthy and unhealthy. The study
found out that most of the foods and beverages offered by the 3 school canteens are unhealthy.
The article claimed that the consumption of unhealthy foods and drinks of various students from
the school canteens is an indication of the increasing number of children being obese in the
Philippines and around the world.

The writer presented the thesis statement in a clear and detailed manner since it was
written in the abstract as well as in the other parts of the article with the use of signal phrases to
eliminate any disarray and confusion. The work is well-structured and it provided the main
objective of the study for readers to better understand the main topic of the research. The article
emphasizes the growing population of the number of children being overweight and obese that
can lead to possible harmful health consequences. It points out the significant role that the school
canteens play in the Eating Habits and General Health of the students. The work only presented
one method in gathering data, which is through utilizing ocular observation.

The article presented other studies supporting the idea that children might not be eating
the proper kinds of foods at the school since they are exposed to a wide variety of unhealthy
options of snacks that have a detrimental effect on our health such as junk foods and soft drinks.
The studies that were presented in the article help the argument or thesis since they provided a
guide and a possible outcome of the study. The contribution of the article/work to its field is
evident in the text which is to control and limit the prevalence of unhealthy food and to help
students in assessing and evaluating their overall health condition and convincing various
schools in imposing policies that limits the display of unhealthy foods to alleviate the increasing
trend of obesity in children around the globe.

Overall, the article is organized but it needed expanded vocabulary as there are minor
issues in grammar. The writer did not insert any unnecessary or ambiguous information. The
article holds its worth by providing its reader the significant factor of the exposure of students to
various unhealthy foods on the school premises that affects their overall health. Through this
work, the students will be more knowledgeable about the dietary benefits that they are
consuming for them to still change their unhealthy eating habits. The growing population of
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children being overweight and obese will be reduced since the school and school canteens will
now be noticed and alarmed about the lack of options for healthy food and beverages that they
provide. To further improve the content of the article for future directions of research, the writer
should limit redundant wordings as they pad the content of the context and bore the readers. The
researcher should also expand his method of gathering data such as interviewing participants or
conducting a survey to collect more unbiased and accurate results.

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