NUTRITION
There are approximately 148,000 school-age children who live with chronic hunger in Ontario
and 5,900 children in northern Ontario use food banks
Poor nutrition among our students is serious concern. In schools across Ontario we are seeing a
disturbing increase in the availability of foods that are only minimally nutritious - and a decline
in the quality of food that children bring from home.
Scheduling which allows students little time for meals contributes to poor eating habits.
We need to consider:
•
Are we scheduling mealtimes appropriately?
•
Are we providing adequate time for lunch breaks?
•
Are we providing adequate nutrition education?
(Ontario Society of Nutrition Professionals in Public Health School Nutrition Workgroup. Call to
Action: Creating a Healthy School Nutrition Environment, 2004, p.6 & Ontario Association of
Food Banks, 2011. Combating Hunger: A Snapshot of Hunger in Ontario)
Proper nutrition is not just essential for health—it’s also vital for learning.
Researchers are unanimous: Good nutrition is important to the wellbeing and development of
children. Students who are well nourished perform better in school. Conversely, inadequate
nutrition can impede a child’s learning ability -- as well as physical development.
For low-income families, eating nutritiously can be an economic challenge, due to restricted
budgets and often a lack of nutritious foods available at food banks. Many of these parents
suffer enormous stress when unable to supply healthy food options to their children.
Unhealthy food choices cause higher rates of childhood illness
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There is a notable increase in the number of children suffering from obesity and type two
diabetes. It has been confirmed poor food choices and bad eating habits are two factors that
can cause these illnesses.
How students feel about their bodies has an impact on their sense of self, and their food
choices.
Poor body image is closely related to low self-esteem and, in some situations, can lead to eating
disorders, such as bulimia or anorexia (Westerberg-Jacobson, Edlund et al. 2010).
How students perceive their bodies, and the way they feel about their bodies, may affect what
they choose to eat.
Caution: Popular culture’s ideal image of the body may be damaging to a child
As educators, many of us have observed how unrealistic cultural ideals of slimness (particularly
in females) and muscularity (particularly in males) inundate all media and influence our
students.
We know that as a result of idealized bodies in the media, children can feel inadequate, and
dissatisfied with their body weight and size. Researchers are finding that, in many situations,
children with a healthy weight are showing signs of having body image issues. (Abbott, Lee et
al. 2010; Duncan, Duncan et al., 2011)
Abbott, R.A., Lee, A.J., Stubbs, C.O. & Davies, P.S. (2010) Accuracy of weight status perception
in contemporary Australian children and adolescents Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health,
46:343-348
Westerberg-Jacobson, J Edlund, B. & Ghaderi, A. (2010) A 5-year longitudinal study of the
relationship between the wish to be thinner, lifestyle behaviours and disturbed eating in 9-20year old girls. European Eating Disorders Review, 18:207-219.
What we can do:
• Encourage a safe, secure food environment where all students are comfortable and can
enjoy healthy eating. Develop and promote options for scheduling nutrition breaks that
allow students sufficient time to eat.
• Ensure all food choices available in the school are consistent with classroom teaching,
reinforce healthy eating messages, and are culturally acceptable. Stress the importance of
staff modeling and promoting healthy eating behaviours and choices in school.
• Help educate the students and the wider community about nutrition, and involve them in
activities that promote the practice of healthy eating.
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• Educate your students about food banks by arranging a visit to a food bank, and encourage
them to volunteer to help in a local food bank.
(ETFO. Possibilities: Addressing Poverty in Elementary Schools, 2012. p. 69)
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