Hopefully the figures of childhood obesity in Spain were as bad as our participation in the Eurovision festival in recent years. But they are not and therefore we must work to prevent.
We have talked about the role of parents, school canteens, vending machines, advertising, TV hours and now we have pharmacists who taking advantage of their frequent contact with families can advise on good eating habits.
Fanny Pons Nicolau, pharmacist and specialist in Nutrition Education proposes all these 12 actions:
- Warn of abusive consumption of junk products, loaded with saturated fats and / or simple sugars with high energy load and very low nutritional value
- Help the interpretation of product labeling so that the nutritional message is understandable
- Explain the nutritional pyramid, remembering that there are no good or bad foods, but there are frequencies of consumption
- Encourage healthy breakfasts
- Recommend snacks such as fruit, dairy, dried fruit without salt to the detriment of pastries or snacks
- Remember that the drink of choice for the child must be water and reduce the consumption of commercial juices and carbonated beverages
- Promote the physical activity, suggesting trips, excursions, outdoor sports, as it is essential for the proper development of the child and also spontaneous physical activity, with short trips, walking, climbing and descending stairs or getting off one stop earlier if traveling by bus
- Control the hours spent watching television, video games and computer
- Learn to balance family menus with school menus
- Advise on healthy culinary preparations
- Encourage the monitoring of Mediterranean diet
- Remind parents that there is no better model for their children than themselves and that "a picture is worth a thousand words"
These points seem fantastic to me and everyone has been treated in this blog but I wonder if all that can be done by pharmacists in a few minutes of visiting the pharmacy.
AdvertisingIn any case, the intention is good and all aid in the health crusade is welcome. If everyone in our place fulfilled our responsibilities, our children would be more stylized.
