It is reported that the public transport system in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, plans to ban junk food advertisements early next year. London has one of the highest rates of obesity among children in Europe. Brazil also announced a new law in May that included food and nutrition education as a compulsory part of the country's public and private primary and secondary schools and into science and biology curricula, all schools must implement within six months. Many years ago, WHO urged governments and people concerned to take reasonable measures to protect children from harmful food and beverages, guide them to be responsible for themselves and consciously refuse junk food.
Lunch time is also a "feeding and nurturing" process
Influence character by environment
According to Lancet magazine, Japan has formulated a series of food health education programs in recent years, which are implemented in early childhood, including classroom education, standardization of diet, improvement of quality of life, and insistence on eating healthy and beneficial foods, which will play an important role in the longevity of Japanese people.
In Japan, school lunch time is not only a time for children to eat and rest, but also an educational process of "feeding and nurturing". As early as 2005, the Japanese government enacted legislation, requiring schools to make full use of this period of time to guide and educate children to cherish food, learn traditional dietary culture, understand nutrition and health preservation, and maintain the correct way of choosing food.
Japanese school lunches emphasize the balance of meals and Japanese characteristics. Food was prepared in the morning by professionals with local fresh vegetables, fruits and seafood, some of which even came from the school's own garden. In the school canteen, we often see some such tips: " Everything's just right after a full meal", do not encourage overeating. WHO investigators speculate that such eating habits have made Japan one of the world's lowest childhood obesity populations.
Students'participation in catering is also part of this education. Japanese children take turns on duty to put tables, chairs and tableware in place, collect and distribute food from the kitchen, and clean up after meals. Children tend to cherish the food they get when they do it themselves. Japanese schools also require all children to eat as much as they want, not to take too much,so that they will neither waste nor overeat.
Scientific planning
Nutrition education is usually arranged before lunch
American schools are doing their best to provide children with enough food and drink and free breakfast and lunch for children from low-income families. That's not wrong. But in recent years, educators and nutritionists in the country have repeatedly appealed to the government to pay attention to the fact that children only tend to eat fast food, resulting in an increasing nutritional imbalance and obesity rate. In 2010, the United States Congress, under the initiative of the Democratic Party, formulated the National School Food Nutrition Supply Regulations for Women, Infants and Children with a more scientific attitude. In 2012, it updated the school meal nutrition standards and added billions of dollars to the school budget in order to correct the malnutrition caused by children eating junk food in large quantities.
Leaders of school districts and schools in the United States are responsible for inspecting and ensuring food conforms to national standards. Staff report to their superiors at any time to meet the needs of students. From the Ministry of Agriculture to the grass-roots level of schools, the supervision of food production, purchase and storage should be strengthened to ensure quality and nutrition, counterfeit and inferior products should be eliminated. Provide healthy food to all children, with special attention to children in agricultural States and children from low-income families. Parents of students are invited to supervise the implementation of nutrition programs and to provide nutrition education to parents and students at the same time, so as to facilitate the healthy development of children together with families.
Starting in elementary school, children learn about the nutrition needed for human health and the ways to maintain vigor through listening, reading and watching videos in food nutrition, biology and physiology courses at different depths. Thanks to the fact that the American population is made up of many ethnic groups and nutrition education is based on a wide range of advantages, schools introduce the benefits of different meals to children, encourage them to try more, appreciate and revere food, and never eat as much as possible.
Interestingly, in American primary schools, nutrition education is usually arranged for the last class before lunch. Teachers analyze nutrients in a food or fruit in class, and explain how nutrients, sugars and cholesterol work, digest and absorb in the human body. When the children finish the course, they will face the real food as soon as possible, as if they entered the laboratory immediately, and they will start to observe and interpret automatically, which is conducive to the choice of diet and long-term memory.
Strict restrictions
Bus system to ban junk food advertisements
In recent years, British people have been plagued by growing obesity. London Mayor Sadik Khan has taken the lead in banning junk food. At the end of last month, he announced that from February 25 next year, advertisements for high-fat, high-sugar and high-salt foods should not be posted and displayed on public transport signs and vehicles in the city, "because these foods are time bombs affecting children's health."
He said, "We have to do what is good for our children, no matter how difficult it is. The draft resolution began to solicit public opinions in May, and we received 1,500 responses, 85% of which expressed support. We believe that reducing the exposure to junk food propaganda is not only for children, but also for their families and professional cooks, so as to effectively help us control obesity.
Mayor Sadik Khan has announced that all above-ground, underground and water transport in London is under control, and that such advertisements are banned on buses, taxis, subways, water ferries and airport buses. However, healthy foods such as salads in fast food chains can still be advertised in the public transport system as long as they are low in fat, salt and sugar.
Prior to this, the UK has banned TV and Internet broadcasting of junk food advertisements for children. In recent years, teenagers and children under the age of 16 in the UK have spent more than 15 hours a week surfing the internet, making them easy targets for junk food manufacturers.
Not only that, British pediatricians have also suggested that fast food restaurants should be banned around schools to reduce the number of children exposed to junk food. Russell Wiener, director of the Royal College of Children's Medicine, advised that no fast food restaurants should be available within 400 metres of the school's location: "Children walk out of school hungrily and are immediately surrounded by unhealthy food, which they will surely eat at their disposal."
London has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in Europe, with about 40% of children aged 10 to 11 being overweight or obese. A survey shows that there are at least 10 fast food restaurants in the 400 meters around 1800 primary schools in Britain.
Give counsel
Getting away from it is not as difficult as you think
Many parents know not to let their children eat too much high-sugar, high-salt and high-fat food, but they are suffering from the environment, and have expressed that it is difficult to control. Educators have offered relatively simple methods, as long as they do it strictly and provide healthy food to children, the results are still remarkable.
1 Avoid super-strict repression
Instead of giving children a list of junk foods that are strictly forbidden to eat, it's better to replace them with a reasonable and balanced diet. Because it is likely that the more forbidden things parents forbid, the more children want to get and eat, so it is important to help them build up the right concept of food, while avoiding the opposition between the two generations.
2. Assist children in choosing healthy foods
For example, put the fruit basket on the table within reach, put the washed and cut vegetables and fruits in the refrigerator, the children can get them at any time, and pack small bags of yogurt, dried fruits and cut fruits, which are also convenient for children to carry out.
3. Hide junk food appropriately
The family always collects a small amount of snacks such as French fries and put them in places that children can't easily find. If the children don't know that there are such snacks in the family, they won't bother asking for them.
4. Formulating rules that must be followed
For example, no snacks are allowed when watching TV, because it is easy to overeat.
5. Planned and controlled
Children can be exposed to a small amount of candy and dessert, but be moderate, such as snacks once or twice a week, and add healthy foods such as strawberries and nuts to the cake.
6. Increasing Creativity for Healthy Foods
If you don't want your children to think about junk food, you may carefully make vegetables as the main ingredients, such as with bright colors or packaging, add ingsome children's favorite tastes, etc.
7. Develop healthy eating habits in the whole family
Studies have shown that children who regularly eat with their families are more likely to eat more fruits and vegetables and are more likely to develop healthy eating habits as adults. Therefore, adults should set an example and eat more healthy food.
