Should The MGSHS Yr 7 HPE Super Snacks Unit?

Introduction:

Health problems that are linked to poor eating patterns such as heart disease and diabetes place an enormous burden on individuals, families and society as a whole. Australians are eating far too few vegetables, with only 7% people meeting the daily vegetable intake requirements. (Australian Bureau of Statistics report). The most concerning aspect of Australian eating is the amount of junk food and highly processed food which makes up 35% of the average energy intake. (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017). During the teenage years young people develop food and lifestyle patterns for the futures. Hence it is very important give them a good understanding and knowledge about healthy nutrition. The MGSHS Yr. 7 HPE Super Snacks unit

7 HPE Super Snacks Unit has its limitations to the knowledge & skills it provide the students as it focuses on decision making within the home where supportive environment is provided by the parents. Approximately 67% of the students surveyed said that cooking meals was important to their family indicating that they mostly eat at home. Over half of the surveyed students preferred eating at home than at a fast food outlet. When young people leave home they have limited cooking skills or wise choice of food shopping. This can lead to eating fast foods which are often high in fat and sugar. They should be taught how to read package labels to look for high vitamin, low fat and sugar content. Most of the families tend to ignore looking at nutritional information on food labels which is reflected in the MGSHS Yr. 7 survey where less than one third of the families look at nutritional information when choosing groceries they buy. Australians spend more than $7.16 billion on fast food meals every year. (Heart Foundation 2015). The MGSHS Yr. 7 survey results also reflect the popularity of fast food and family involved in making them easily accessible. Over half of the surveyed students like the taste of fast food, and go to fast food outlets with their family. Fast food influence on teenagers is strong and at least one third of them choose the fast food outlet that is the most convenient. (MGSHS 2018). Most of the time students will not apply the knowledge to make healthy

7 HPE Super Snacks Unit does provide students with skills to make good food choices, but needs more work to develop and evaluate intervention necessary to remove unhealthy eating in young people. School curriculum should include health and nutrition lessons. The health and physical education teacher can play a large role in changing the way information is taught to children, and how they can use the information they are taught. Families and educators should act as role models to children to adopt healthy eating and lifestyle. Fast food is popular and liked by youngsters. Teenagers and young adults consume more soft drinks, burgers and chips than any other age group. (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2014). Hence the Federal Government needs to step in and set targets to prompt the fast food industry to reformulate their menu items especially children’s meals. It is important to reduce energy, saturated fat, sugar and sodium in meals for better public health. If the fast food industry fail to meet these voluntary targets, compulsory reformulation should be introduced. The fast food industry should promote their healthier menu items which may encourage people to choose water or side salads over soft drinks and fries. Children learn about eating by watching others around them especially their parents. Hence it is important for parents to set good example of healthy eating. Eating junk food and takeaways should be avoided by cooking healthy meals at home involving the