School Committee Training in Nutrition

implementation

The proposed pilot project aims to develop an evidence-based model for improving children's nutrition, learning and attendance by training school committees in healthy eating, including sensitization to change gendered norms about the nutritional needs of boys and girls. This overall objective will be achieved by raising awareness among parents about children's nutrition and healthy eating practices. An estimated 2,000 households will be included in the pilot. The parental training will employ the Japanese philosophy of Shokuiku to train parents. Shokuiku translates to "food education" in Japanese and promotes balanced and intuitive eating. Introduced into the Japanese education system by law, Shokuiku is the foundation of nutrition education within the Japanese school system for the development of healthy eating habits. The philosophy takes a more holistic approach to nutrition education beyond basic nutrition intake to encourage healthy and sustainable habits and understanding and attitudes towards food. Intuitive eating centers around recognizing body cues to meet nutritional needs, while the idea of balanced eating supports the acquisition of food and nutrition knowledge alongside the ability to make appropriate food choices, understanding of the food environment, and supporting socioemotional wellbeing.