Healthy Eating for School Children – Today and for Life

Introductory Speakers:

Professor Sidiga Washi, Incoming president of International Federation for Home Economics (IFHE). Professor Washi will discuss health and nutrition literacy for school children with a focus on the double burden of under- and over-nutrition and gender and the specific problems in African countries. Dr. Iveta Pudule – Senior Public Health Analyst at Centre for Disease Prevention and Control of Latvia - ‎Centre for Disease Prevention and Control of Latvia. Mrs Pudule will share the experience of implementing healthy food environments in and around schools in Latvia. Dr. Kristiina Janhonen – Postdoctoral researcher, University of Helsinki. Dr Janhonen will present examples from Finland on the work schools do to improve health and nutrition literary in school children. Dr. Hanna Sepp – Senior Lecturer, School of Education and Environment, Kristianstad University. Dr Sepp will provide practical examples of how primary school can work to improve food literacy and what to include in teachers training.

About the workshop:

Obesity prevention and treatments require truly multi-sectoral approaches. When it comes to tackling obesity in children, the education sector must be involved. Children spend a significant part of their childhood in schools and there is a unique opportunity to promote physical activity and healthy eating while they are there. But there are many interests competing for teachers and children´s time and resources, making it more difficult than it sounds.

In our workshop Healthy Eating for School Children – Today and for Life, representatives from different sectors and from different parts of the world will meet to discuss the role of schools in promoting health and nutrition literacy for school children and how sucessful school policies for a healthy school environment can be developed and implemented. Finally we will bring up the evidence gaps and research needs related to the role of schools in reducing childhood obesity.

Workshop prepared by: Dr Anna Karin Lindroos, Researcher, National Food Agency and University of Gothenburg, Dr Karin Hjälmeskog, Senior Lecturer, Department of Education, Uppsala University, Åsa Brugård Konde, Nutritionist, The National Food Agency.