Nutrition in the Early School System - Research Paper Example

? Teaching the Significance of Healthy Nutrition Nutrition in the early school system Introduction Research indicates that there is a lack of total awareness of healthy nutrition in the society. According to Avery, Johnson, Cousins, and Hamilton (2013), 31.8% of the children in America are overweight. 16.9% among the overweight children are obese. This indicates that the nutrition gap needs to be closed before the issue turns into a national disaster. The gap can be closed by increasing the awareness of healthy nutrition in the society. Awareness of the issue may be created by conducting national campaigns in all states in the country, and by integrating the topic in the school curriculum. Teaching the topic in schools is more efficient than conducting campaigns because it involves parents, teachers, children, and the government. The inclusion of parents, teachers, and government is also efficient because it represents a form of Coordinated Approach to Child Health (Avery, Johnson, Cousins, & Hamilton, 2013). Schools should create wellness departments, which implement and monitor nutrition care and behavior of learners. The department is also responsible for teaching children about health issues such as eating fruits and vegetables, undertaking exercises, avoiding usage of unlawful drugs, and personal hygiene (Prelip, Kinsler, Thai, Erausquin, & Slusser, 2012). Teachers must determine the objectives of the nutrition classes before undertaking the teaching task. This ensures that the lessons achieve the desired outcomes, which consequently, lead to improved nutrition among children. The teaching methods used should also be capable of giving rise to the desired outcome. The following are examples of objectives and a teaching plan that may help a teacher to create nutrition awareness among children. Objectives i. By the end of the lesson, students should be able to identify various classes of foods, and the significance of each in the body. ii. Learners should be able to identify the diseases that arise from poor nutrition behavior. iii. Students should also identify and explain the significance of physical exercise in promoting health. Expected Outcomes Students should understand and explain various food classes, which include fruits and vegetables, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. An understanding of these food classes enables learners to determine the role of each category in the body, for example, carbohydrates provide energy while proteins build body muscles. Fruits, on the other hand, help the body to fight and prevent diseases (Prelip, Kinsler, Thai, Erausquin, & Slusser, 2012). Students will also have identified the effects of over or under consumption of each food to their bodies. The children will have determined the amount of food that they can consume from each class to avoid the undesired effects of unplanned consumption. Children will spread the awareness to their parents and friends from other schools after the lesson. This will create national awareness, which will improve health in the society. The outcome of the second objective is that children will identify the diseases that arise from poor nutrition, for example, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes among others. Children contract obesity more than the other diseases; therefore, the lesson will focus on this ailment. Students will understand the negative psychological and physical effects of having an overweight body, and the foods that lead to the ailment. Students will be able to determine the measures to undertake to avoid suffering from the diseases. The learners will also identify the actions to take in case they contact the disease. Students will identify various ways of exercising their bodies by the end of the lesson. The knowledge of the techniques will enable students to recognize the significance of exercise, for example, reducing weight, strengthening muscles, decreasing depression, and preventing diseases (Avery, Johnson, Cousins, & Hamilton, 2013). Teaching Plan Subject: Healthy nutrition Description The lesson plan aims at equipping learners with the knowledge of healthy nutrition. The lesson aims at achieving the objectives that have already been discussed above. Activities The teacher starts by asking students what they know about nutrition. This helps the lecturer to determine the areas that students are not familiar with so that it can be covered in depth. The instructor then introduces the topic to the children by defining the key terms such as health, nutrition, exercise, food, and disease. The definitions help the students to familiarize with the topic and the sections that will be covered. The next step is to study classes of foods. The teacher uses the textbook to explain to learners the various food classes and their function. This section is also taught using power point presentations that contain pictures of the food categories. Learners are then asked to name other foods that are not included in the power point and their classification. The instructor also asks learners to research other foods that are not covered in class. This ensures that the children are able to classify the foods that they eat while in school and at home (Prelip, Kinsler, Thai, Erausquin, & Slusser, 2012). The instructor introduces the diseases section by asking the children what causes certain ailments and their effects on the body. This enables the teacher to determine whether parents teach their children about diseases. This is because parents are key players in the development of a child. The teacher uses power point once more to demonstrate to children the physical appearance of sick children. This enables the children to identify the differences between health and poor nutrition so that they can study the topic keenly. The last section, which is the exercise part, is taught practically. Children are asked to formulate games, play them, and explain what they feel after the exercise. The facilitator helps the learners to identify the benefits of the exercise. Resources Books, internet, pens, magazines, physical exercise uniform, and computer with power point. Assessment The instructor assesses students by giving them assignments to research what is not covered in class. The assignment is done in groups so that students can discuss the topic thoroughly. Exams may be used to evaluate the understanding of learners. Community Resources Community resources are the materials that can help students to understand the health, and they are available in the society. The resources include journals and health magazines that are available in community libraries. Students can read these materials and learn new ways of living healthy lives. Students may also attend health conferences conducted by humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross Society. The conferences usually involve presentations of diseases and techniques of preventing the ailments. Learners practice what they learn from the projects to avoid the ailments (Prelip, Kinsler, Thai, Erausquin, & Slusser, 2012). Other resources include games and health education conducted by public hospitals. Conclusion The increase in obesity and overweight among children has given rise to the need for nutrition awareness in the society. Teaching is the best technique to create awareness because it takes place in schools where the major stakeholders are parents, teachers, children, and the government. The objectives of teaching healthy nutrition in a class include teaching food categories, malnutrition diseases, and the need for exercise. An instructor may use books, presentations, and games as techniques to help students understand the topic. Community resources such as health magazines and nutrition conferences, which are conducted by various institutions, also help in achieving the objectives. References Avery, G., Johnson, T., Cousins, M., & Hamilton, B. (2013). The school wellness nurse: a model for bridging gaps in school wellness programs. Pediatric Nursing, 39, 12-18. Prelip, M., Kinsler, J., Thai, C. L., Erausquin, J. T., & Slusser, W. (2012). Evaluation of a School-based Multicomponent Nutrition Education Program to Improve Young Children's Fruit and Vegetable Consumption. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 44, 4, 310-318. Read More