25/09/2026
Why Eating Vegetables Matters More Than We Think
Many of our students are reluctant to eat their vegetables at meal times. It's a common challenge, but the reasons to keep encouraging it go well beyond "finishing your plate."
Vegetables are one of the richest sources of the vitamins and minerals the brain needs to develop properly, including nutrients that support memory, concentration, and learning. Emerging research also points to a meaningful link between gut health and mental wellbeing, adding further weight to the case for a vegetable-rich diet. And over a lifetime, regularly eating vegetables and fibre-rich foods is associated with a lower risk of serious long-term health conditions, including colorectal cancer. Habits formed during adolescence tend to carry into adulthood, which makes this a critical stage to build them.
Alongside this, we'd like to raise a related concern: the frequent consumption of ultra-processed foods, such as packaged snacks, sugary drinks, and instant meals. These foods are typically high in calories but offer little real nutritional value. A major recent scientific review linked regular consumption of ultra-processed foods to more than thirty adverse health outcomes, spanning physical and mental health.
It's also worth noting that excess weight, once gained, is considerably harder to lose than it is to put on, and difficult to keep off even after it is lost. Recent research suggests a biological basis for this: fat cells appear to retain a kind of "memory" of past weight gain, keeping hunger-related hormones elevated even after weight loss. This underscores why prevention matters more than correction after the fact.
We encourage parents to continue reinforcing these habits at home, just as we do at school. Building a foundation of good nutrition now will serve our children well into adulthood.