Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

This member contributed to:

    • Dear FSN Forum,

      Thank you for the opportunity to share the experiences of the Polish Society of Dietetics on nutrition education provided by dietitians in Polish schools.

      In the years 2013-2014 we conducted the nationwide project “Wise Nutrition Healthy Generation”. The academic partner of the project was the Faculty of Human Nutrition and Consumer Sciences from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, and the strategic partner of the programme was the Coca-Cola Foundation. The programme was under the patronage of the institutional partners, including the Ministry of National Education, the Centre for Education Development and Fourteen Education Offices.      

      The project targeted secondary and upper secondary school students on a national scale. More than 2000 schools attended by nearly 450 000 students had joined the project. The overarching aim of the project was to create a trend for a “healthy lifestyle” that would further be conducive to a durable change of nutritional habits of Polish teenagers. Within the framework of the project, an innovative model of care for teenagers with body mass-related problems has been proposed. The education of the young people was conducted by dieticians and school teachers.

      The experience gained during the realization of the programme enabled to collect information concerning:

      • the necessity of dietary consultations in schools,
      • the constraints linked to the occasional nature of this type of action within the framework of different projects,
      • the need to elaborate model solutions on a national scale in the field of dietary care over young people,
      • the need for a constant monitoring of the health condition of children and youth.

      It is worth to emphasize that nutrition education should be professional but also attractive for teenagers and that all undertaken actions should be monitored, and their efficiency evaluated. (More information on: http://zdrowepokolenie.ptd.org.pl/)

      We continue our mission related to nutrition education within the project "I choose water"  which is the first public-private partnership focusing on making water the first choice and promoting healthy lifestyle among children and their parents. We strongly believe that the project will create the gold standards of cooperation between dieticians and schools. (More information on: http://ptd.org.pl/artykuly/wybieram-wode and http://www.nestle-waters.com/media/featuredstories/i-choose-waternationwide-educational-campaign-in-poland

      Best Regards

      Danuta Gajewska

      The Polish Society of Dietetics