Let the cookie crumble

Are biscuits good for children? The question seems to have gained some urgency with the proposal to give biscuits instead of a cooked meal to primary-school children under the government's mid-day meal scheme becoming a subject of hot debate.

Nutritionists are unanimous that biscuits can't make up a child's full meal, although carbohydrates, which is what they mostly contain, are vital for a child's growth, needing to comprise as much as 60 per cent of children's diet. "How many biscuits can they give?" asks Sarika Raj, consultant paediatrician at the Artemis Health Centre, Gurgaon. "Two? That's hardly enough."

But setting that argument aside, is there any merit in the general belief that biscuits are wholesome food? Not much. Neetu Mishra, a dietician at Max Hospitals, says, "Biscuits lack protein, vitamins, minerals, which children need." "They are no better than a sweet paratha," says Raj, dismissively. Fahmina Anwar of the nutrition department at Artemis adds, "What's most damaging is that most bakery biscuits have trans-fatty acids, which increase the risk of heart disease, colon and stomach cancers and have been banned in many countries." Also, with many children in urban India being overweight as a result of a diet rich in chips and cold drinks, biscuits are often the last thing they need, she points out.

There are some varieties of biscuit that score higher in nutrition. For example, biscuits made from bran, the hard outer layer of wheat grain, are high in fibre; or biscuits made from gram, barley, oatmeal (which contains vitamin B-complex) or soya flour, some of which have recently come into the Indian market and are rich in proteins and minerals. "Children can have these as a snack to supplement their dietary needs," says Anwar. But these aren't liked very much by children, who prefer cream biscuits which are no good since what they largely contain are sugar and artifical sweetners.

What about claims by biscuit brands that their products are rich in calcium or iron? There could be something in it, but not much. "A little milk may be added to the flour, but once it is processed the nutrition content will go down," informs Mishra. "Besides, such biscuits can never be adequate to meet all of a child's needs. There's no beating a balanced cooked meal."