Guest Author: Ashley Rasmussen
Young children cannot be expected to be health and nutrition experts. They can, however, grasp and adhere to simple principles for healthy eating and living. Unfortunately, and this may be especially true of children of a lower socio-economic status, they are often not taught proper nutritional habits and may be unintentionally living an unhealthy lifestyle from a very early age.
Dan Nemet and colleagues, in an article published in the May issue of The Journal of Pediatrics, explored whether kindergardeners could experience health benefits from a year-long, in-school nutrition and physical activity instructional program. The results of their study, conducted on Israeli kindergardeners, with a particular emphasis on those of a lower socio-economic class, show that devoting time each week to encouraging physical activity and proper eating habits can have a huge payoff by improving short-term health outcomes and fostering life-long knowledge and appreciation of a healthy lifestyle.
The program that the study team implemented in kindergarten classrooms was cost-effective and easy to put into practice, as all lessons were administered by the children’s teachers. Teachers received several days of instructional training on nutrition and exercise, and then spent the school year regularly educating students on the principles of healthy eating and physical activity. The children received lectures and talks, played games, and read stories about nutrition-related topics such as food groups, vitamins and minerals, cooking methods, making healthy food decisions, and the difference between fast-food and home-cooking. They also participated in three 15-minute exercise sessionsa day, six days a week, and were invited to attend two different health fairs related to the major themes of the health promotion program.
At both the beginning and end of the intervention period, the children were tested on their nutritional knowledge and physical fitness, and had their height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) measured. Compared to a control group, the children in the intervention group saw greater reductions in BMI (a key indicator of overweight/obesity status) and were less likely to be overweight or obese at the end of the program. The intervention group also demonstrated significant improvements in their nutrition and physical activity knowledge and preferences, while the control group’s knowledge and preferences remained the same throughout the study.
These findings are encouraging because they prove that, given the proper instruction, young children are able to easily understand and implement the principles of a healthy lifestyle. Oftentimes, children do not receive this instruction at home, so discussions that occur in the classroom may be the only avenue they have to become educated about proper eating and exercise habits. Devoting just a small portion of the curriculum to encouraging healthy eating and physical activity can have a big impact on the behavior of young children and provide them with the knowledge and skills they need to develop into healthy, active adults.
Source: Nemet, Dan, Dganit Geva, and Alon Eliakim. “Health Promotion Intervention in LowSocioeconomic Kindergarten Children.” The Journal of Pediatrics. Volume 158,Number 5, May 2011: 796-801.
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