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Poradnikzdrowie.pl is the patron of the project Keep the Balance run by the Food and Nutrition Institute. The aim of the program is to fight overweight and obesity among children and adolescents by promoting he althy nutrition and physical activity in schools and kindergartens - with the involvement of both teachers and parents. Institutions that meet the criteria developed by IŻŻ will receive special certificates. It's worth joining the action!
The problem of overweight and obesity
The occurrence of excessive body weight among children, i.e. overweight and obesity, which is more dangerous to he alth, is rapidly growing not only in the world but also in Poland. Preliminary results of the latest research by the Food and Nutrition Institute, conducted in May and June 2013 in primary and middle schools in 16 provinces, indicate that in primary schools (grades IV and VI) the percentage of overweight students continues to increase and has already reached 28% in boys and 22% in girls. It was a preliminary study before the start of educational activities, carried out as part of theof the Keep the Balance Projectconducted by the Institute of National Economics under the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Program.
Purpose of the program
The main goal of the certification program ispreventing the development of overweight and obesityand other chronic diseases by effectively promoting the principles of proper nutrition and physical activityamong children and adolescents. The program is addressed to schools and kindergartens, because it is the educational institutions where young pupils spend a lot of time that should support parents in shaping pro-he alth attitudes in their children. A token of appreciation for the certification program is the honorary patronage of the Ministry of Education.
Program assumptions
The program involves the certification of schools and kindergartens, which reflects the school's activities to improve nutrition and increase physical activity among children. The main idea of the initiative is to involve the entire school and preschool community - educators, children and parents - in undertaking joint pro-he alth activities. In school and kindergarten, where teaching and shaping attitudes is a natural process,there are a number of options for implementing the principles of a proper lifestyle by, among others: providing properly balanced meals, organizing joint breakfasts / dinners, ensuring long breakfast / lunch breaks, changing the assortment of food products available in school shops to pro-he alth, as well as introducing various daily activities physical activity among children and adolescents.
How will the program be implemented?
Over the next two years, the program will be implemented in 100 institutions in each voivodship (25 kindergartens, 25 primary schools, 25 middle schools and 25 high schools), and in the following years it will cover more facilities. This program is a voluntary initiative, it creates a system of spontaneous joining of institutions to the program, and participation in it is a kind of ennoblement for the school / kindergarten. Each facility voluntarily participating in the program receives special educational materials in the field of nutrition and physical activity, such as, for example, educational posters, educational materials for parents, a guide for teachers with lesson plans, interactive books for preschoolers, and an educational film with Pascal Brodnicki. Contests with prizes add to the attractiveness of the program. The campaign's communication platform is the website of the project Keep the Balance for parents and teachers and a page on the Facebook social network dedicated to older children and teenagers. A school that successfully implements the program in accordance with the developed criteria will receive a Nutrition and Physical Activity-Friendly School / Kindergarten certificate.
What should I do to get a certificate?
The school / kindergarten applying for the certificate is designed to create conditions conducive to the promotion of proper nutrition and physical activity on the premises of the institution.Nutrition and Physical Activity-Friendly School / Kindergarten Certificatewill be awarded to those that meet the criteria specially developed for each type of educational institution. The criteria, which vary depending on the type of facility, include:
- organization of shared breakfasts at school;
- ensuring a sufficiently long breakfast break;
- providing a suitable place to eat the form of a he althy, wholesome meal chosen by the school;
- providing school lunches / kindergarten meals in accordance with recommendations / standards (if any);
- change to a he althy assortment in school shops, vending machines with drinks and food on the school premises;
- reduce the impact of inappropriate food advertisingand drinks at school;
- running "positive advertising" (e.g. posters);
- organizing activities motivating children to make he althy choices on their own (exchange of recipes, he althy eating day, vegetable Tuesdays, etc.);
- caring for the development of culinary skills and knowledge among students in accordance with the principles of rational nutrition (practical classes);
- organization of sports and recreational events, family fairs;
- educating parents on the role of nutrition and physical activity in the proper development of children (e.g. organizing talks, lectures, educating parents using the school / kindergarten website);
- introducing a motivating assessment system in PE lessons, the aim of which is to encourage the student to undertake independent physical activity in their free time;
- implementation of a diverse range of activities to choose from during PE lessons.
Expected effects of the Keep Balance program
- motivating schools and kindergartens to pro-he alth activities through the proposed help during the program implementation,
- improving the knowledge of children, adolescents and parents about proper nutrition and physical activity,
- changing the eating habits of children and adolescents,
- increasing students' motivation to daily physical activity,
- increasing students' participation in compulsory physical education,
- arranging places to eat meals in schools,
- stopping the growing trend of obesity among children and adolescents.
The Save the Balance Project is run by the Food and Nutrition Institute (IŻŻ) as part of the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Program (SPPW) and co-financed by the Ministry of He alth. The partners of IŻŻ in the implementation of the project are the Institute "Monument - Children's He alth Center", the Academy of Physical Education in Warsaw and the Polish Society of Dietetics. Its aim is to prevent overweight, obesity and other chronic diseases by educating the public on nutrition and physical activity. More information: www.ZachowajRownowage.pl
Poradnikzdrowie is the patronof the Keep Your Balance project .
ImportantPoradnikzdrowie.pl supports safe treatment and a dignified life of people suffering from obesity.
This article does not contain discriminatory and stigmatizing content for people suffering from obesity.