THE ROLE OF NUTRITIONAL EDUCATION IN PRESCHOOLERS

摘要

Nutritional education plays a vital role in bringing about a greater awareness of the value nutrition has in adopting a healthy lifestyle. Broadly speaking, education is transformative, providing knowledge through instruction that first acts upon the attitudes of a person and then goes on influencing their behavior. The earlier this process begins, the more effective it is. That is why the provision of training as early as the pre-school years can be viewed as a future investment, considering that healthy eating habits are formed at early ages. Nutritional education must be continuous, effective and address all family members, caregivers and educators. The aim of nutritional education, therefore, is to instruct children on how to adopt an adequate and balanced diet, create a positive attitude about the food, encouraging the acceptance of various foods, eliminate unhealthy eating habits, use food resources economically by improving nutritional conditions and preserve the well-being of the body. By providing children with nutritional education during the preschool period, their future eating habits can be shaped in a healthy manner.