The school setting: an opportunity for the implementation of dietary guidelines

Abstract

Nutrition, physical activity and health related promotion programmes in schools have developed into a mature field of research over the past decades. A number of success factors have been identified and evidence-based interventions have been performed. However, the school setting as an arena for evidence-based health promotion programmes, is still not used to its full potential. Schools provide an excellent arena for reaching large segments of the population, such as young people, school staff, families and the surrounding community. There is a need for an overview regarding the current status of nutrition, physical activity, related health as well as support structures in the EU member states. Based upon such an analysis, a consensus report should be written, pointing out the major problems at hand. Self-assessment tools for national as well as for school level should be produced, in order to guide changes, but also to include an element of continuous assessment of change, for evaluation purposes. Keywords School Diet Physical activity Dietary guidelines Health promotion Nutrition education InterventionBeginning prevention early by improving lifestyles and focusing on healthful food choices within the context of the total diet has the potential for a major impact on the future of adult chronic diseases 1 . Healthy eating and regular physical exercise help young people to feel good, perform better at school and avoid developing risk factors which may lead to major chronic diseases and premature death. A relevant education in nutrition, physical activity and health, is a key element to promoting lifelong healthy eating and exercise behaviours. In order to successfully promote diet-and physical activity-related health, other factors such as effective policies that facilitate a positive school environment are required 2,3 . The school setting provides a valuable opportunity to influence health through policy measures, education and food provision. Schools provide the most effective and efficient way to reach a large segment of the population, including young people, school staff, families and community members. Evidence baseMajor early literature reviews of nutrition education programmes in school settings 4 highlighted the need for more and better research in this field. Much of the early research in school health education focused on knowledge-based classroom programmes. Many knowledge-based studies did not consider the multiple factors influencing eating behaviours, i.e. interactions between individuals and their social and physical environments 4,5 . Nutrition education in general and school-based education in particular has however developed into a mature field of research over the past decades.A review of the research studies conducted during the 1980s found that there had been a dramatic increase in school-based nutrition education research, with improved research designs and methodologies compared with previous reviews 6 . The importance of making nutrition messages developmentally appropriate and d...

Effectiveness of school-based nutrition education interventions to prevent and reduce excessive weight gain in children and adolescents: a systematic review

“…O envolvimento dos pais nesse processo educativo dá a eles a oportunidade de se tornarem modelos apropriados para os filhos, assumindo um papel fundamental na construção dos hábitos alimentares das crianças. Por fim, o fornecimento ininterrupto de frutas e verduras nas escolas possibilita que as crianças e os adolescentes tenham acesso a esses alimentos, tornando viável a sua incorporação nos hábitos alimentares das crianças [44][45][46] .…”

Challenges to implementing the food-based dietary guidelines in the South African primary school curriculum: a qualitative study exploring the perceptions of principals and curriculum advisors

“…10 In South Africa, since the development of the FBDG, several school-based initiatives have used these guidelines to develop nutrition education materials to complement the national curriculum on nutrition. 11 However, these programmes were only experimental and very few educators indicated that they use these materials to teach nutrition at schools.…”

Evaluation of educational school meal programs in Gyeonggi province, South Korea

“…In particular, school meals should be part of the educational process to teach students healthy food choices and promote good eating habits. [27][28][29] However, the results of the current study presented some problems and showed an urgent need for improvements related to school meal programs from an educational perspective. As a result of evaluating the achievement level of educational school meal programs, the total average score did not even reach to 50 out of 100, with significant differences among school levels.…”

“…School-based nutrition education should focus not only on the provision of nutrition information, but also on the development of skills and behaviors related to areas such as experiential activities like cooking class, school gardening, and exhibitions. 27,33,34 Experiential nutrition education improved cognitive behaviors that may mediate healthy food choices. 35 In our study, the cooking class score was only 3.5 out of 10.…”