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How to teach children healthy nutrition and why to do it?

Proper nutrition education is needed to stop unfavorable trend, when majority of population in rich countries is from certain age sick and dying on chronicle diseases which are oft caused or supported by unhealthy lifestyle choices, especially poor nutrition choices. Healthy nutrition is basic for healthy bodies and minds. Healthy nutrition can improve behavior and academic achievement at schools, it can improve quality of life and with it also our productivity.

Many schools already employ school counselors. I suggest as even better way how to prevent many of the behavior and academic problems to employ also nutritionists. Nutritionist can teach students healthy nutrition, educate and support teachers, offer consultations for parents, prepare and help with the implementation of school wellness policies.

The most important results of my dissertation study: “How to Teach Children Healthy Nutrition”

• Vast majority of students, parents and teachers wants nutrition education to be part of general education on elementary schools.
• For long term results in nutrition education are needed long term involvement, complex and professional approach.
• The more complex approach implemented the better results.
• There are already now some enthusiastic teachers incorporating nutrition lessons but majority of teachers lack needed education.
• Food industry is biased, their goal is to produce and sell foods with as much profit as possible, what practically means to sell cheap food for lot of money. This could be achieved only when using cheap ingrediences (as for example high fructose corn syrup, isolated soy proteins, processed vegetable oils and margarines) processing these into novel products, adding lots of additives that these processed foods are lasting and looking good, and after adding synthetic vitamins claiming health benefits. Therefore nutrition education has to be provided by independent professionals without any ties to industry.
• Many teachers were complaining that parents are undermining their effort (giving children sweets for their school snacks or lunch).
• Many parents were complaining that teachers and schools are undermining their efforts (regularly rewarding at schools with sweets, connecting school events and celebrations with candy - cookie consumption, unhealthy school lunches, and vending machines with junk at school corridors).*
• When comparing participant’s nationality:  the biggest support for nutrition education was from American student’s teachers and parents. This was maybe because American population is facing the most serious consequences from unhealthy eating habits even when many European and economically growing Asian countries are catching up with this unfavorable trend.

* I think that there exists easy solution for this problem: let’s make the schools candy / cookie free zones.

Summary

All involved participants were asking for nutrition education and the majority was supporting even stricter or unpopular measures. All available economical evaluations are showing that better lifestyle choices lead to better health and behavior, academic achievement and later work productivity. Relatively small investment into employment of professional school nutritionist and their support could in few years gain positive economic rewards for individuals, families and later societies.

Furthermore, healthier eating population can means shift in industry power from big food processing companies, fast food giants, and factory farms to smaller local farms, individual farmers and organic producers, gardeners. In time of rising oil prices this could be other only positive aspect of healthy nutrition education. The question is how medical and pharmaceutical industries would like healthier people that mean fewer clients.

Margit Slimakova, PhD, nutritionist from Czech Republic; author, lecturer and enthusiastic eater of healthy food; supporter of sustainable organic natural lifestyle and propagator of independent nutrition education.