What is the role of school in improving nutritional status of schoolchildren?SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAM

Educate a Healthy Feeding for Children

Every meal have to provide: proteins,vitamins and energy!

School environment is the surrounding of children at school and the condition of it is essential in the children health.The environment must fulfil sanitary requirements.
The environment has to provide the basic preventive measures of communicable diseases and to give feeling of confort and better educational achievement.
Also the health level from nutritional point of view has to be achieved and maintained following some basic requirements:
-provide an adequate nutrition
-have a sanitary school environment (preventing infectious disease development).

The school can improve the nutritional status of schoolchildren by:
-school feeding program
-nutritional education of children
-dietary supplementation,by vitamin and mineral preparations (according to the local deficiency problems)
-prevention and control of parasitic disease.

School Feeding Program:
It is necessary to plan a program for feeding of schoolchildren.
The school feeding supports growth and health lifestyle ,contributes to educational progress and in some cases supplements home feeding ( in case of less developed families).

Every school has to provide a safe source of potable water!

School Feeding Must:
-provide 50% of recommended dietary allowences,specially of protective nutrients (protein,vitamins,minerals)
-be popular and fulfil requirements of food sanitation.

A suitable form of school meal is given,according to available resources,for exemple:
Hot meal : the most valuable (but limited practical according to availability)
Cold meal : made of a variety of foods,as cheese,boiled eggs,stewed beans.
Snacks : specially of cheese and eggs (providing energy).
Milk : kindergarten and primary school children can be given a good amount of milk every day.It would be of good nutritive value,specially for protein and calcium.

In case when the children have to bring food and snacks from home,the school has to prepare special place for taking food,with handwashing before and after.


Along with an healthy nutritional program the school environment conditions is responsable for schoolchildren health too.
That's why the school have to be in a conveniently area,away from sources of noise and polution.
The playground and yard must be available and suitable for safety activities.
The classroom has to have an adequate wventilation (windows in both side of the walls) and an adequate lighting.
Also the desks and seats have to be convenient and confortable with proper spacing.

Respect a correct functional program!The main heath status of children (school age)  is given by the quality of school program.