School meals on the menu to boost children's health

Only four per cent of Australians eat the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

In Japan, a country that boasts one of the lowest childhood obesity rates in the world, school meals and dieticians are provided for the nation's students.

The Japanese system was one of the successful international examples cited at a federal inquiry this year, as it explored Australia's production, consumption and export of food.