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Background
“
Research shows that childhood obesity is increasing and is
now one of the most
prevalent childhood health problems in
Australia” (the Federal Minister
for Children and Youth Affairs).
Recommended key prevention
strategies include the promotion
of healthy eating and physical activity
behaviours (NSW
Childhood
Obesity Summit 2002).
Consistent with the NH&MRC*(i) Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents and Nutrition Australia’s* Food Variety Index (ii), “Rainbow Food-Eating by Colour” promotes a broad range of various healthy food types.
“
Rainbow Food-Eating by Colour” also promotes physical activities. These
activities will conform to national exercise guidelines for children and
adolescents when such guidelines are finalized.
The childcare setting is a direct way to access and disseminate nutritional
information to children, their carers and families.
A recent project*(iii) conducted by the Health Promotion Service in South
/ East Sydney aimed: “ to improve the nutritional quality and safety of
food provided to children attending long day care where food is brought from
home.”
The project showed that childcare staff can be effective disseminators
of nutritional information and can bring about change in the behaviour
of the parents using
the centre.
Family Day care (and childcare in general) is “an important opportunity
to directly influence the way in which the children who attend the service
grow and develop” *(iv)
Many children are placed in Family Day Care (and childcare in general) “from
birth and can spend up to 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, with a Family Day
Care Carer. This gives carers a vital role in helping to provide nutritious
and safe food to the children in their care during the early childhood years.”*(v)
*(i)NH&MRC National Health Medical Research Council
*(ii)Nutrition Australia: formerly known as the Australian Nutrition Foundation
*(iii) Good food for children-food from home project Implementation & Evaluation
Report
Oct 2002 contact Health Promotion Service, St George Hospital
*(iv) and (v) “Good Food in Family Day Care-A Food and Nutrition Information
Kit"
developed by “Good
Food in Family Cay Care Project Partners”