As you may have read on my last blog obesity in children is a major issue! So therefore teachers need to be aware of this issue and make sure we do all we can to prevent obesity in children. Lumeng (2005) states that a “three year old obese child is nearly eight times as likely to become an overweight young adult as is a typically developing three year old” (p. 13). So what she is saying is that if a child is obese at three years old they are likely to be on the path to obesity in adulthood. So therefore it is very important children get a great start to life and the adults in their life encourage a healthy lifestyle. Eagle, Bulmer and De Bruin (2004) states that early childhood centres efforts have limited long term success on modifying health related behaviour and further intervention is urgently required. As such, Barnfather (2004) sated that many obesity interventions taking place throughout New Zealand were initiated by teachers concerns. From reading what Barnfather said it has got me thinking, if obesity is teachers concerns then what can teachers do to prevent obesity happening in our children at the early childhood centre?
Pedagogical Implications!!
For a start teachers can implement physical activity into the curriculum and have it part of the daily routine. Barnfather (2004) proposes that early childhood centres role in physical activity and nutrition/lifestyle needs to be reassessed and strengthened.
Teachers can use a curriculum-based approach to influence positive eating patterns, reduce fat, salt and sugar consumption. Provide morning tea and afternoon tea and lunch so that the teachers know the children are getting healthy options why they are in their care. When it is lunch box day, teachers can encourage children to eat their healthy options first before there unhealthy options. Providing healthy choices and encouraging children to eat their healthy options comes under the strand wellbeing in te whariki where it states the childrens health is promoted. Te whariki states that in the early childhood centre children develop "knowledge about how to keep themselves healthy" (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 48). Support and provide families and nga whanau with healthy home-cooked meals and nutritious low-fat snacks that appeal to children, including raw fruits and vegetables. Banfather (2004), and Block and Smith (2010) all argue that healthy habits start at home and the best way to fight and prevent childhood obesity and weight problems is to get the whole family on a healthier pathway.
Teachers can also model healthy eating choices and behaviours, if teachers eat with the children this gives them a chance to model healthy food. Lumeng (2005) states that adults can model by “eating the product while enthusiastically explaining to the child how yummy it is” (p. 16).
Many community responses included implementing healthy eating policies throughout all early childhood centres. Start Right Eat Right, n.d website states that this recommendation of action has already started taking place with many early childhood centres encouraging healthy policies in their centre every day. Early childhood services play an important role in meeting the nutritional needs of children while in their care. Therefore, Start Right Eat Right, n.d acknowledges that many aspects of the policies encourage appropriate food choices and reinforce nutritious food such as vegetables, fruit and foods containing calcium and iron. Opportunity’s to drink plenty of water needs to be encouraged at every meal time including lunch, morning and afternoon tea. In addition, all early childhood centres need to be encouraging children by giving them the opportunity to experience healthy, balanced, and nutritious meals/snacks (Start Right Eat Right, n.d.).
Many newspaper, magazines and communities support this healthy eating policy movement in early childhood centres as the reinforcement of children staying healthy and eating properly through a variety of inventions may help reduce the number of children diagnosed as being overweight or obese (Alden, 2010). However, Wilson, Watts, Signal and Thomson (2006) suggest that the government is doing little to support this movement and needs to support the movement by providing healthy foods, such as fresh fruit to centres, in order to promote clear, consistent, culturally appropriate, relevant, and accurate messages to children about healthy eating.
Is it our jobs as teachers to implement and encourage healthy eating in early childhood? I think yes defiantly!! As many children spend time in early childhood centres therefore it is important that teachers provide an environment that encourages and supports healthy eating for young children.
Early childhood centres can achieve a Healthy Heart Award from the healthy heart foundation and receive a certificate for the centre to say they took part and completed the healthy heart activities. It is fully funded by the Ministry of Health. It supports early childhood centres “to create an environment promoting healthy eating and physical activity to under 5s and their families” (Heart foundation, 2013, para. 1). The healthy heart programme provides a lot of support as each centre when they sign up has a Health Promotion Coordinator that works alongside the centre they provide “information and planning tolls for the implementation of healthier food choices and active movement” (Heart foundation, 2013, para. 1). There are seven criteria’s a centre has to meet before they can gain an award they are the following;
• “Provision of food; lunchbox guidelines or ECE service menu.
• A food and nutrition policy
• An physical activity policy
• Parent/whānau education
• Professional development
• Curriculum linked physical activity
• Curriculum linked food and nutrition activities” (Heart foundation, 2013, para. 3). .
The Ministry of Health alongside the government has put in place A background paper with "up-to-date nutrtion and physical activity policy based on current evidence considered for the New Zealand context" (Ministry of Health, 2012, p. 1). The background paper also provides useful information to back up the development of the strategic policy which aims to maintain optimal health for New Zealand children. This background paper "provides information to educate and encourage chidlren, young people and their families or whanau to follow healthy lifestyles" (Ministry of Health, 2012, p. iii). Not only have they put this paper into place to provide healhty lifestlyes but also prevent obesity and diet related diseases.
I would like to leave you with this quote from Stanton and Hills (2004) which inspired me as a teacher to encourage healthy lifestyles in our children they state that "childhood is the best time to teach the next generation about physical activity and healthier eating habits and introducing stratagies to maximise participation levels would be a great investment in the health status of future generations" (p. 161).
References
Alden. A. (2010). Ways to stop obesity. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/103317-stop-obesity-children/.
Barnfather, D. (2004). Childhood obesity prevention programmes in Auckland. Retrieved from http://www.arphs.govt.nz/...reports/.../Child_Obesity/Childhood_Obesity.pdf
Block, J., Smith, M. (2010). Childhood obesity and overweight kids: Helping your child reach and maintain a healthy weight. Retrieved from http://helpguide.org/mental/childhood_obesity.htm.
Heart foundation. (2013). The healthy heart award for early childhood education. Retrieved from http://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/programmes-resources/schools-and eces/healthy-heart-award
Lumeng, J. (2005). Zero to Three. What can we do to prevent childhood obesity? Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/.../vol_24-3b.pdf
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He Whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mōkopuna o Aotearoa/Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Ministry of Health. (2012). Food and nutrition guidelines for healthy children and young people (aged 2-18 years). A background paper. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Health.
Start Right Eat Right (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ncac.gov.au/policy_development/healthy_eating.pdf
Stanton, R., & Hills, A. (2004). A matter of fat: Understanding and overcoming obesity in kids. Christchurch, New Zealand: Hazard Press.
Wilson, N., Watts, C., Signal, L, & Thomson, G. (2006). Acting upstream to control the obesity epidemic in New Zealand, 119(1231). Retrieved from ProQuest Central Database
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