Promoting Healthy nutrition among school children in UK - Essay Example

Promoting Healthy Nutrition among School Children in UK Total Number of Words: 2,280 (excess number of words: 30) Introduction For this study, a literature review will be gathered regarding the importance of health promotion among the school children in UK. In the process of discussing the adverse health effects of malnutrition and the advantages of motivating the school children to eat nutritious foods, the impact of proper nutrition with the physical, mental, and social growth development of each child will be tackled in details. To enable the readers to have a better understanding with regards to proper nutrition, the Tannahill Model will be used as the foundation in developing a programme for health teachings. Right after discussing the current nutritional health policy as supported by the local educational authorities and other related institutions, ways on how teachers can play a significant role in the promotion of healthy foods will be thoroughly discussed. Prior to conclusion, evaluation method(s) that will be used in determining the effectiveness of the proposed educational programme will be provided in the study. Adverse Health Effects of Malnutrition Millions of school-age children are reluctant to eat nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables. Between boys and girls, Yngve et al. (2005) revealed that boys often consume less fruits and vegetables in their diet as compared to girls. Associated with the development of poor eating habit, a recent health report revealed that the medical cost of malnutrition throughout the United Kingdom related to obesity is roughly £7.3 billion each year (BBC News, 2005). Obesity is defined as “an excess of body fat that frequently lead to a significant impairment over a person’s health and longevity.” (House of Commons Health Committee, 2004) Obesity occurs when there is a significant imbalance between the amount of energy a person burns and the amount of energy the person consumes (Jebb & Prentice, 1995). When a person eats more than the energy requirements, the human body tends to store the extra calories in the body as fats (Dehghan et al., 2005). Based on the Federal guidelines (Berg, 2003), a normal weight is computed using the Body Mass Index (BMI) wherein the normal range for an adult should be between 18.5 to less than 25 (BMI 18.5 to 25 kg/m2). BMI measurement between the ranges of 25 to less than 30 (BMI 25 to 30 kg/m2) is considered overweight whereas BMI measurement that exceeds 30 (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) is considered obese. Obesity and overweight is a common problem among the school age children in UK. Aside from the lack of physical activities, most of the school age children are eating a lot of salty and sugary foods because of the influence of television advertisements. Obesity could cause a person to deal with social adjustment disorders or social discrimination (Pearce et al., 2002) aside from a long list of serious health concerns related to heart diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis and high cholesterol (Yuan et al., 1998), atherosclerosis (Nazario, 2007), osteoarthritis (Lau et al., 2000), sleep apnoea (Ballington, 2002), and the different types of cancer among others (WHO, 2005). Importance of Health Promotion among the School Children Malnutrition leading to obesity and overweight can cause the school children to suffer from lower self-esteem and physical health problems. Since it is easier to conduct health teachings among the school age individuals, it is necessary for the local authorities to impose the promotion of health teachings within the classroom setting. Study shows that the food preferences and eating habits of the school age children is often the same as they entered into the adulthood stage (Nicklaus et al., 2004; Nu, MacLeod, & Barthelemy, 2002). Therefore, it is important for the school environment to increase health teachings as part of their regular curriculum. Impact of Proper Nutrition with the Physical, Mental, and Social Growth Development of each Child Healthy diets rich in fruit and vegetable have been associated with normal physical and mental growth development of school-age children. Not only does the increase intake of fruits and vegetables can improve the cognitive ability, self-efficacy, and health awareness of the school children (Blanchette & Brug, 2005), several studies revealed that proper nutritional intake can effectively reduce the number of obese cases among the young individuals. As a result of having a normal physical development, school age children can experience a normal social life. Healthy food in childhood has life-long benefits. It is the increasing incidence of overweight and obesity among the school age children that made the local authorities consider the school population as a target for health promotion. Basically, properly nourished men and women during the childhood stage has better physical and mental health as they enter the adulthood stage. Existing Health Nutritional Policy The main purpose of the health nutritional policy is to ensure that each child will receive a certain level of healthy food as recommended by national health authorities. Given that the caterers are the ones who are responsible in preparing the food choices of the school children, it is the caterers who are mostly obliged to comply with the nutritional guidelines as set by the nutritional authorities such as the dieticians or doctors. The Food, Nutrition, and Health Policy aims to “create an environment in which young people, parents, and school staff are more likely to make healthy and responsible food choices”. (Clarke et al., 2005) As part of strengthening the main goal of the local health department, the nutritional health policy needs to be strongly supported by local educational authorities and schools in UK. Role of School Teachers in the Promotion of Healthy Lifestyle Consuming a lot of unhealthy foods in daily diet and lack of physical activities contribute to the high rate of obesity. Sedentary behaviors such as playing computer games and eating while watching a television show for a long period of hours are highly associated with obesity. (Tremblay & Willms, 2003) Environmental factors, cultural environment, and lifestyle issues are also highly related to obesity-conducive environment. (Grundy, 1998) The availability of convenient transportation, elevators and escalators in our society significantly decreases the level of our physical activities which are required in burning excess calories in our body. Taking in large amount of sugar, fat, and carbohydrate contents is harmful to the health of a person. Food manufacturers especially the fast food restaurants are actively promoting low cost high calorie foods to the public via paid television advertisements (Styne, 2005). Advertising fast food items like McDonald’s or Burger King on television, magazines, or billboards could indirectly affect the eating patterns and preferences of the young individuals. Developing a supportive school environment is important in terms of increasing the health knowledge of the school children. Since the school teachers are the front-liners of each educational institution, these professionals are considered to have a vital role to play when it comes to the promotion of healthy lifestyle among the school children and the parents or carers. Proposed Health Nutrition Programme Most of the professional public health researchers and clinicians strongly support the idea that obesity prevention is the best method to control and minimize the high rate worldwide obesity epidemic. (Muller et al., 2001) In line with the health practitioners’ effort on preventing obesity through health education, it is advisable to start this campaign with the younger population particularly the children since weight loss among the adults are more difficult to achieve as compared with the young individuals (Dehghan et al., 2005). The school should improve the availability and accessibility of fruits and vegetables within and outside the school canteen aside from teaching the school children about the health benefits they can receive out of regularly eating fruits and vegetables (Blanchette & Brug, 2005). When making fruits and vegetables accessible to school children, giving the students a one-year free provision of free fruits and vegetables is effective in terms of increasing the school children’s intake of fruits and vegetables (Bere et al., 2007). Knowing the students’ preferences with regards to nutritious foods is equally important. (Bere & Klepp, 2005) Identifying the food preferences of the school children enables the school teachers and school administrator to encourage the school canteen staff to prepare fruits and vegetables based on what the students want to eat. Therefore, the school teacher has to conduct an actual survey with regards to the school students’ most preferred fruits and vegetables. It is necessary to encourage each local educational institutions to positively influence the food and physical activities of these children. Identifying and modifying the obesogenic environments such as home, school area and the community is a good start in terms of encouraging the children to practice healthy eating and be actively involved in physical activities. When teaching the students about the health benefits of eating nutritious foods, school teachers can make use of computer multi-media shows in order to increase the interests of the students. Evaluation Method(s) Used to ensure the Effectiveness of the Proposed Health Educational Programme The school teacher who is responsible in monitoring the success rate of the proposed health programme has to seek help from the caterers who are serving food at the school canteen. It is the “strength and weaknesses of the previously evaluated programmes that allows the health educators the opportunity to design and implement new ones” (Whitehead, 2003, p. 493). For instance: The food caterer can tally the number of students who chose to order vegetable, meat, and fruits among others. Using the first data gathered prior to the provision of health teachings in school as the baseline, the school teacher could easily trace signs of improvements such that more students would order for vegetables and fruits. Based on the evaluation result, the school teacher can modify the previously implemented health teaching programme. Improving the health condition of the school age students can protect them from a long list of health diseases which may result to a long-term medical assistance in the future. Medical/hospital cost due to health diseases caused by obesity has reached £7.3 billion per annum. (BBC News, 2005) Upon strengthening the health education programme within the educational settings, UK government can save a large portion of taxes due to health care expenses. Significance of Tannahill Model in Developing a Programme for Health Teachings Health promotion should be done by considering not only the proper way of educating the students with regards to the importance of eating good foods but also issues on how eating nutritious foods can protect and prevent the occurrence of health-related problems (NHS, 2009). Using effective communication tools when informing the target audiences could significantly increase the students’ knowledge aside from modifying their personal belief and attitude regarding the food pyramid. By strengthening the school policy with regards to health promotion, the school teachers can effectively help minimize the chances wherein the school children could suffer from serious health detriments. Based on the Tannahill Model, the school teacher should consider not only the importance of good health by eating nutritious foods in terms of preventing health diseases but also the policies behind the health prevention when providing health education to the school children (Dunkley-Bent, 2000, p. 37). For instance: By eating more vegetables during meal time, school children can prevent the risk of becoming obese or over weight due to eating too much junk foods. As a result of strictly requiring the students to eat only the types of foods that are included in the food pyramid, the school teachers can be assured that the students can be protected from a long list of health problems. Strength and Weaknesses of Tannahill Model One of the strength of using the Tannahill Model is the fact that the concept enables the health educator the opportunity to “identify, plan, and carry out health promotional activities since the model considers health education, prevention, and health protection”. (Dunkley-Bent, 2000, p. 37) Considering that health education, prevention, and health protection are three interrelated issues, the Tannahill Model is considered the best framework to be used in developing a health teaching programme. For instance: Tannahill model can be used in informing the students that eating nutritious foods can help them prevent becoming obese. The risk of developing other diseases related to obestiy will also be lessened. Under the health protection, the school teachers can develop a legislation such as the banning of selling fast food products close or within the school vicinity. Based on the prevention and health protection policy, school teachers can easily conduct a mass campaign to promote the importance of good nutrition among the school children. Tannahill model is designed to address the health educational teaching on different health-related matters such as the importance breast feeding among others. However, the weaknes of the model is that it can never inform the school teachers on how, what, and when to start and discontinue the campaign. Given that most of the target audiences would be interested only on the short-term benefits of the health education plan, implementing a long-term strategy for the school children may not be as effective as compared to the expected results. Conclusion The number of obesity and overweight cases among the school children in UK is very high. To protect these young individuals from suffering from the health consequences of being malnourished, school teachers should actively participate in the food, nutrition, and health policy. Effectively teaching the students the importance of eating nutritious foods should start at a very young age to enable the school teachers to mould the students’ eating habits. Effective health promotion can be achieved using the Tannahill Model as a guideline in health teaching. Upon using this model, the school teacher is expected to consider not only the health benefits and health prevention associated with eating the right foods but also the health policy that is being implemented within the school environment. *** End *** References: Ballington, C. (2002). Measuring of Sleep Apnea During Obesity Treatment. Obesity Research , Vol. 10, pp. 385 - 415. BBC News. (2005, December 13). 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