Deep-fried food banned from school menus for good in war against child obesity

Ministers want to tackle alarming childhood obesity rates (Picture: Getty Images)

Deep-fried foods will disappear from school menus in favour of fruit-filled desserts as part of a sweeping new health drive.

New rules drawn up by ministers will ban the unhealthy cooking method from schools and scale back fatty ‘grab and go’ items and sugary treats.

Instead, each school lunch must be accompanied by one or more portions of vegetables and salad, and desserts will need to contain at least 50% fruit.

The shake-up hopes to combat childhood obesity and tooth decay and has been welcomed by healthy eating campaigners.

The government will set out the first overhaul School Food Standards in over a decade as data shows that one in three children are leaving primary school overweight or obese.