COLOMBO, June 23, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Sri Lanka began enforcing a ban on fast 
food and sweets in schools on Tuesday to tackle what the government says are 
rising cases of diabetes and heart disease in children.

Much of Sri Lanka's population lives below the poverty line, and many 
children still do not receive enough to eat.

But the island nation increasingly faces the opposite problem, with officials 
warning that more and more children are becoming overweight or obese.

Public health inspectors said on Tuesday they had started to implement 
guidelines issued by the education ministry this week prohibiting schools 
from providing food containing high levels of sugar, salt and fat.

The ban means hot dogs, burgers, pizzas, doughnuts, ice cream, biscuits, 
flavoured milk, energy drinks, pastries, deep-fried snacks and even 
condiments such as tomato sauce are off the menu for the country's four 
million students.

"Poor eating habits among children directly contribute to the increase in 
nutritional problems and, later, to the rising incidence of non-communicable 
diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer," the ministry said in a 
statement dated Monday.

There is no reliable data on juvenile diabetes, cancer or heart problems in 
Sri Lanka, but authorities say they know anecdotally that the numbers are 
rising.

Twelve percent of schoolchildren between the ages of 13 and 17 were 
overweight, and another 3 percent were obese, as of 2024, according to 
government figures.

The ministry asked school managers to encourage students to eat rice, fresh 
fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, eggs, natural fruit juice, fresh milk and tea 
or coffee with only small quantities of sugar.

It provided recipes for "healthy and highly nutritious" menus prepared with 
locally available ingredients.

Schools also may not permit advertisers of "unhealthy food" to sponsor 
events, according to a 122-page ministry guide seen by AFP.

According to UNICEF, around 17 percent of Sri Lankan children under the age 
of five experience stunting due to malnutrition.

About a quarter of the country's 22 million people lived below the poverty 
line in 2024, but the proportion will likely fall to about one-fifth this 
year, according to the World Bank.