Is the policy to encourage children and young people to eat healthily a recipe for success or is it destined to fail, like an experimental dish on the menu, shunned by each diner? HM Inspectorate of Education went looking for answers as to whether the Hungry for Success initiative, launched in 2002 to improve the quality of school food, had led pupils to opt for a healthier diet. The findings, published yesterday, are a mixed bag. Inspectors found there had been marked improvements in the quality of school meals, especially in primary schools.

Is the policy to encourage children and young people to eat healthily a recipe for success or is it destined to fail, like an experimental dish on the menu, shunned by each diner? HM Inspectorate of Education went looking for answers as to whether the Hungry for Success initiative, launched in 2002 to improve the quality of school food, had led pupils to opt for a healthier diet. The findings, published yesterday, are a mixed bag. Inspectors found there had been marked improvements in the quality of school meals, especially in primary schools.

However, secondary schools were criticised for failing to be sufficiently urgent in doing their bit to address poor diet among teenagers. The criticism must be put into context. In most cases, pupils who make the transition from primary to secondary school go from an environment where they are in school all day to one where they can leave the premises at lunch time. This coincides roughly with the time when young people are starting to assert themselves more. Choosing to go out of school at lunch time offers an opportunity for self assertion. At the same time, peer pressure can come into play to lead young people to follow their friends to the burger van or chip shop instead of going to the school canteen. The effect is the same. The uptake of wholesome, nutritious food is limited and the opportunity to acquire healthy eating habits is lost.

Local food outlets competing for pupil business need not comply with the nutritional standards set for school meals. The playing field is far from level and puts secondary schools at a disadvantage on several fronts (also, it is not as if teachers have little else to demand their attention and expertise). This is not to suggest, however, that the kitchen towel should be thrown in.

Poor diet, starting in childhood, has damaged too many lives and contributed to premature death rates in Scotland. As the HMIE report points out, childhood obesity rates are rising. Nearly one boy in five and one girl in 10 have been identified as obese. Better eating habits are being learned at primary school, where the audience is captive. Should it also be made so at secondary school? It would be difficult to enforce, although some schools have succeeded with pupils up to the age of 16. Implementing such a policy across this country would bring its own pressures on dining hall and social space. More teachers would be required for supervision.

In most cases, secondary schools are doing their best to provide healthier options but, given the limited uptake of school meals (research conducted for Hungry for Success found that almost half of secondary pupils surveyed said they would rather go out of school for lunch) there is scope for an official test of the dietary impact of the so-called "lunch-time lock-in". But care must be taken not to load too much responsibility on to schools.

Young people cannot be dictated to. Perhaps it will require the learning (or re-learning) of the importance of preparing and cooking fresh food by parents in the home before there is lasting progress.