Fat kids are a headache! 5 punches, 5 colors of fruits and vegetables are the most powerful

"Rome was not built in a day, and similarly, the serious problem of childhood obesity in our country did not happen in a day!" According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, one in four elementary and middle school students in urban areas is obese, and the number continues to increase. The figures released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare are even more shocking. 27% of elementary school children are overweight or obese, more than 50% of children have the habit of eating snacks, and the obesity rate among boys is higher than that among girls. (Video/Jiang Minjun)

How to make children develop healthily and not gain weight when they grow up is something that many parents attach great importance to.

Chen Junrong, a professor at the Department of Health and Nutrition at Taipei Medical University, said that he once saw elementary school students carrying their school bags and sitting in front of a stall with their family to eat dinner after 9 o'clock in the evening. While the family was eating, the children were actually busy doing their homework. If you eat at roadside stalls for a long time for convenience, or eat beyond your normal meal times, you may have an unbalanced diet. This is especially true for food sources such as roadside stalls or night markets, which often have high oil, salt and calories, which are also the main cause of obesity.

Obesity-promoting environment breeds fat boys and girls

What other warning signs are there regarding children’s health? The Ministry of Health and Welfare conducted a nutritional health survey on elementary school children from 2001 to 2002 and found that 1 in 3 boys and 1 in 4 girls were overweight or obese, and the situation was more serious in rural areas than in cities. In addition to the high-fat and high-calorie snack bars selling fried chicken, French fries, bubble tea, etc. that are often seen near schools, the "obesogenic environment" has created a lot of fat boys and girls. It is also related to the economic level of remote areas. People think that fruits and vegetables are more expensive, so they choose cheap and readily available fried chicken and noodles as food substitutes.

The survey also found that 20% of children do not eat breakfast every day, and more than 50% do not drink milk. Insufficient milk intake will cause calcium and vitamin B2 deficiencies for growing children. The average calcium intake does not meet the standard. Generally, calcium intake should be more than 1,000 mg. Currently, only about half of this is achieved, which will not only affect growth and development but also brain power. A foreign research report once pointed out that children who eat breakfast have higher scores in math and science tests than children who do not eat breakfast. So the reason why I don’t grow tall is actually related to this.

Professor Chen Junrong suggested that replacing snacks with fruits, such as eating apples and oranges instead of potato chips, or even taking sweet pastries, is one way to reduce children's calorie intake.

How can we improve the nutritional imbalance among school children? Professor Chen Junrong suggested replacing snacks with fruits, such as eating apples and oranges instead of potato chips, or even taking sweet pastries. In addition, the amount of physical exercise for schoolchildren should be increased. They should not watch TV, use computers or use mobile phones frequently. They must maintain at least 30 minutes of exercise every day.

Promote nutrition education for children to reduce obesity rate

In view of the alarming health situation of school children, Amway Nutrilite has been cooperating with the Hsinchu County Government since two years ago to promote "children's nutrition education" in elementary schools in Hsinchu County. It has carefully designed interesting interactive teaching software and teaching aids for Prince Fit's (Fat (fat) transliteration) transformation journey, and used cartoon interactive methods and interesting stories that are easy for children to accept to design nutrition teaching materials for children. 19 nutritionists in Hsinchu County use this teaching material to teach classes, guiding children to learn to make friends with food, establish a balanced diet concept, and hope to reduce the obesity rate among children.

Nutritionist Lin Xiufen said that the actual acceptance results two years later found that as of June 2013, 86 primary schools and more than 20,000 students had benefited. (Photography by Jiang Minjun)

Nutritionist Lin Xiufen from Amway Nutrilite Health Institute said that the actual acceptance results two years later found that as of June 2013, 86 primary schools and more than 20,000 students had benefited. Tests conducted on students before and after class found that the nutrition knowledge scores of students who had taken this course improved by more than 21%, with the scores of third-grade students improving from 59.91 to 73.35, and the scores of fourth-grade students improving from 60.27 to 72.91.

Nutrition education for school children needs to be implemented at the grassroots level

In the process of delivering nutrition education to children, some issues that deserve attention are still exposed. Schoolchildren generally do not have enough knowledge about calcium intake and mistakenly believe that only milk contains calcium. In fact, there are many sources of calcium in the diet, including tofu, dried tofu, cheese, and even kelp, seaweed and cabbage.

The implementation of nutrition knowledge education for school children needs to be rooted in the grassroots, and through games, it is easier for children to absorb the nutrition knowledge they learn. (Photography by Jiang Minjun)

According to the latest nutrition guidelines, you should eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day, including 3 servings of fruits and 2 servings of vegetables, in order to get balanced nutrition. Nutrition education for school children should be implemented in their daily lives, including nutritious lunches at school and meals at home. This requires teachers and parents to learn and cooperate together to promote it. It is common to see schoolchildren throwing the fruit in their lunch as if it were a ball, or even leaving a lot of leftovers, which means there is still a lot of room for learning. Therefore, it is said that "knowledge is power", and it is essential to work hard to take root.

★"Save school children from obesity!" 》Nutrition score for school children increased by 20%