Importance Of Nutrition Education During COVID-19

The COVID-19 Pandemic has hit the entire world hard and has brought most of the businesses and institutions to a halt. In India, millions of children had to sit at home due to the shutdown of schools and colleges. Government imposed strict lockdown to control the spreading of the virus and everyone was stranded inside their homes.

Humans are not programmed to stay indoors. Especially month after month. But the lockdown restricted our movement and thus our bodies went into a stagnant mode. Adding on, staying indoors has increased our food intake in the form of irregular unhealthy snacks, irregular sleeping cycle, lack of rigorous exercise, etc. Our body is not receiving enough and appropriate nutrition.

Lack of nutrition makes our immune system weaker and more prone to diseases. And in this pandemic time we need to boost our immune system as much as possible. Therefore, the need of food and nutrition education has become essential. This calls for implementing nutrition education in the school curriculum which should in fact become mandatory so that children are aware of their food choices and habits.

Nutrition Education is the process of learning right eating choices which helps in building strong immunity and keeps students physically and mentally healthy. This education is aimed towards bringing actual changes in life rather than imparting textbook knowledge.

Incorporating nutrition education in school curriculum helps students to learn and understand its importance at an early age. And such education can be applied practically in everyday life. Thus, learning about the right choices and practically implementing the same will exhibit results and help students to live a healthy lifestyle.

Also, students with good mental and physical health will naturally perform well in their academics.

The novel coronavirus attacks our respiratory tracks and weakens it. The only defense against it is our immune system. People with weak immunity have already fallen prey to this disease and reflect later what choices they should have made. Elders and children must have strong immunity in order to protect themselves from COVID-19 or for that matter any disease or infection. And the first step towards enhancing immunity is to eliminate improper nutrition from your diet.

Schools have an interactive approach where students learn the entire process of healthy eating habits, right from their early years. This approach helps the children understand the importance of making the right choices through activities and makes learning fun for them. Most of these activities can be done collaboratively with their peers or parents. The bond and the concept of healthy eating is strengthened even further between the child and the parent when these activities are carried out.

Nutrition education has long term benefits which creates discipline among students.

Here are some key benefits of Nutrition Education:

• Children learn the importance of ‘healthy eating’ at an early age
• Healthy food intake keeps them active and energetic throughout the day
• Best nutrition intake reduces the chances of obesity and several serious health related issues
• Keeps the children mentally and physically healthy

RBK Educational Institutions have realized the importance of implementing nutrition education and we are at the forefront of educating our students regarding its value. We believe, a healthy child is ready to face any challenge with his mental alertness and be able to succeed in his future endeavors.

We also urge the parents to implement simple lifestyle at their homes and encourage children to consume healthy and nutritious food and lead a nourishing and sustaining lifestyle.