School role in health education in Italy

Abstract

Intellectual and knowledge values on one side, and vital and physical values on the other, need to be balanced. A harmonious coexistence of these values requires synergy among the bodies that contribute to children education to avoid that the heath education activities cause overlapping, misunderstanding and conflicts between the two models that define children lifestyles: schools and families. Educational bodies understand that health education is key to enable people manage their bio-psychic, emotional, moral and mental resources. Lack of this ability means damage to the child and consequently a failure of the school and the society itself. In the latest decades, schools have been working in this direction, and they have redefined the national curricula integrating health education with specific references to food education and physical activity.