When Wolfgang Heu retired after 50 years in the restaurant business, of which 20 as bars in Åstorp, he got more time to get involved in his great interest in what we put in us and what effect it has on our bodies.

In May, he submitted a citizen proposal to the municipality where he proposed that Åstorp's schools should be declared as sugar-free and sweets-free zones.

- What got me right on the track was the PISA report which showed how bad our results have been in school, says Wolfgang Heu. Then I started to think about what it was and contacted several professors.

Wolfgang Heu is behind the citizens' proposal that the Education Board in Åstorp Municipality will vote on next week. Photo: Caroline Larsson / SVT

Healthy habits have become something of a heart issue for him and in his citizen proposal he refers to research from, among others, Örebro and the University of Oxford on the effect of sugar on young bodies. But according to Wolfgang, the sugar debate is reminiscent of the climate debate.

- We have scientific evidence - but nobody wants to listen, he says.

But the proposal, which would mean, among other things, that sweets and soft drinks are no longer sold at schools and that the snacks served should be free from sugar, now appear to be a reality - at least in part.

Voting next week

Next week, the Board of Education in Åstorp Municipality will vote on the citizen proposal and as a basis, the administration has prepared a proposal for a decision: That the board recommends that schools actively work to limit sugar and disseminate knowledge about sugar-free alternatives.

One of the schools affected by the decision is the Björnekullas High School.

"It has been on the wallpaper several times and we have discussed whether we should remove sweets from the cafeteria," says Erik Palm, who attends nine at school but who himself avoids eating sweets or drinking soft drinks on weekdays.

- I think first and foremost that you should inform the students about what the sugar actually does and be even clearer, says Minna Olsson, who also attends nine at the school. To just reduce completely I think will not work, people will just get angry.

Minna Olsson and Tilda Persson are in ninth grade at Björnekullaskolan - they think the proposal is good but wonder how much effect it will actually have. Photo: Caroline Larsson / SVT

- Most of the sugar is taken from the outside, believes Tilda Persson, who also goes nine. It is often seen in trash cans that there are candy bags, soft drinks and energy drinks.

"There are risks"

According to the headmaster of the school, the school cafeteria already offers a limited range of sweets after a dialogue with the students via the school's student council. For example, cookies are only sold on Fridays. But introducing a ban is not entirely risk-free, she says.

- Much of this we already work with in school. My fears are that the students are attracted to the village and shop there instead, says the principal Ingrid Sturén. To completely remove the sugar, I think, has even more negative consequences for us to follow up the bans. We need staff to find those who eat sweets if they sneak in with it. Then I think it is better to communicate with the students.

How much responsibility does the school have for the students' food and sugar intake?

- Great responsibility - but shared with guardians and the rest of society, says Ingrid Sturén. After all, we have both sports and health, biology and home and consumer knowledge where we inform about these things.