Healthy interest: kindergartens will start teaching proper nutrition
Children from three to seven years old will be able to learn in a playful way, through creativity and small studies, how proper nutrition helps to grow, move and gain strength. A new activity in kindergartens will appear within the framework of the federal project "Good Games", an analogue of "Talking about important things". According to experts, the reason for the introduction of the subject was data from the Ministry of Health: in 2025, more than 3.7 million obese people were registered in Russia, about 700 thousand of them children. How preschoolers will be helped to master important everyday skills — in the material of Izvestia.
Why did they decide to explain to preschoolers how to eat
The Institute for the Study of Childhood, Family and Upbringing, together with the Public Council under Rospotrebnadzor, with the support of the Ministry of Education, has developed a course on healthy nutrition for preschoolers. It will become part of the federal project "Good Games", an analogue of "Talking about important things", which has been implemented in all kindergartens in the country since September 1 this year.
According to the documents available to Izvestia, the program involves conversations between educators and children about how nutrition helps them grow, play and stay active. The course is divided into four age stages: for children from three to four, from four to five, from five to six and from six to seven years old.
So, at the first stage, children will be taught about the importance of hand washing and the rules of using cutlery, as well as they will be introduced to vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat and grain products. At the last stage, we will talk about how nutrition helps to maintain health and provides the body with energy, and different foods have different effects on human activity and vigor.
In addition, preschoolers will learn about agricultural crops grown in fields and gardens, as well as about aquaculture in rivers and seas. During the talks, educators will use visual flashcards with illustrations to help children learn the material better.
— Joint work with the public council at Rospotrebnadzor is fundamentally important for us: general expertise helps to build the content of classes so that they comply with the principles of healthy eating, are understandable and interesting to children, — Alexander Tsvetkov, Acting Director of the Institute for the Study of Childhood, Family and Upbringing, explained to Izvestia.
According to him, the Good Games project is designed to introduce preschoolers to the traditional values of Russia, including life and health.
— Together with our colleagues, we managed to develop a set of materials so that educators could simply and easily talk about proper nutrition and its importance for our lives. I am sure that work will continue on other topics, because now we have only laid the basics," he explained.
Oleg Pavlov, head of the public council at Rospotrebnadzor, said that the materials have already been sent to all kindergartens in the country. The Agency is actively working to promote the principles of healthy eating, in which the council participates.
— One of these areas is to promote the formation of good habits from early childhood. The materials of this project introduce children to a variety of products, from fish and seafood, which are recommended to be included in the children's menu at least twice a week, to amaranth, rich in protein and minerals," he told Izvestia.
According to him, having acquired the necessary knowledge and skills in a playful way, children will be able to transfer them to the family and involve their parents.
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Education with a request to comment on the importance of such training for preschoolers and how it will help them lead a healthy lifestyle during adulthood.
What is the danger of obesity?
According to experts, the emergence of a new educational program for preschoolers was a response to the growing number of cases of obesity in Russia. As Deputy Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Yevgeny Kamkin reported in October this year, more than 3.7 million patients with this diagnosis were registered in the country last year, about 700 thousand of them are children.
The problem of childhood obesity is now almost in the first place and even more important than adult obesity, Larisa Gabdulkhakova, a nutritionist and nutritionist, told Izvestia.
— The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 170 million children and adolescents between the ages of five and 19 are obese. In recent years, the prevalence of this disease has increased fourfold. Even more alarming figures are provided by UNICEF (an international organization operating under the auspices of the United Nations to protect the rights and well—being of children around the world): overweight and obesity affect 391 million school—age children - this is one in five children in the world, the expert explained.
Therefore, according to her, teaching children to eat right from an early age is a good initiative, and learning in a group or in a team can give effective results.
— Nutrition can dramatically affect a child's development, both positively and negatively, depending on the foods consumed. Early osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents, hormonal disorders and reproductive health problems — all this can be laid down from childhood," Larisa Gabdulkhakova emphasized.
However, she noted that the increase in the number of obese people is not only due to the lack of a nutritional culture. Other factors include a deficiency of vitamins and trace elements, a decrease in nutritional density and food quality.
Candidate of Medical Sciences, State Duma Deputy Alexey Kurinny agreed that the problem of the growing number of obese adults and children is extremely relevant. However, in his opinion, the formation of proper eating habits is primarily influenced by the family. To make learning more effective, it should be implemented in schools when children's behavior becomes more conscious. In kindergarten, kids may not yet understand such activities, the deputy believes. In addition, it is important to support nutrition education directly in preschool institutions, the expert added.
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