Still Mediterranean diet? But is it possible that we still need to talk about it? Unfortunately, yes, because today 44% of children and 32% of adults in Italy are overweight and the pandemic is worsening the situation over time by prolonging some bad habits that push the scales up. The initiative was born from this awareness ‘Give me 5 – United you win’ launched today at the Ministry of Health by the Pancrazio association and which seats parents and children together on the desks of 1000 schools to learn how to eat healthy. The project will start in January 2022, (but some activities have already started in October 2021 in Campania and Calabria) and is carried out in collaboration with SID – Italian Society of Diabetology, SIC – Italian Society of Cardiology, SIP – Italian Society of Pediatrics and with the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital and was presented today in a press conference at the Ministry of Health.
Longform
Thus the table keeps us healthy
by Giulia Masoero Regis
Starting with children to involve families
The aim of the ‘Give me 5’ project is to spread the Mediterranean diet through classroom lessons, workshops, games, guides, courses, exhibitions, a portal, a television program and a festival. It involves both the little ones and mum and dad, who are responsible for what is put on the table and will also include diabetic patients. “Today 44% of children and 32% of adults in Italy have extra kilos – he reiterates Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health – and action is needed. The idea of doing it starting from primary school to involve not only students but also parents is commendable: the school must not only teach children, it can be an opportunity for training for everyone. A campaign that reaches two age groups is innovative and unique in its kind among developed countries “. The Undersecretary of Health is also encouraging initiatives like this Pierpaolo Sileri: “As a Ministry we are at the forefront of promoting well-being – he says. ‘Give me 5’ is a project that involves all age groups and which includes numerous activities. It is even more useful today, because Covid has worsened the eating habits of citizens. Promoting proper nutrition means both worrying about the quality of life and enhancing the sustainability of the system. Prevention is the best weapon we have and this initiative allows us to spread its importance. There is no food education for children without fathers and mothers being involved “.
All the weight of Covid
To reiterate the crucial importance of acting on children especially in this pandemic phase is also Paola Cipriano, president of the Italian Society of Pediatrics: “Excessive weight in children is a problem – he underlines – which has worsened with Covid. There was a weight gain of 4.5 kg in 44% of the population and an intervention is needed . Children are often victims of parental bad eating habits. It is important to find the right way to convey the message to the little ones, without making them feel obligated to eat something they do not want. Making what is good for them tasty and teaching them that it can also be fun, stimulating them with games and activities dedicated to their age group means preventing an incorrect lifestyle and future pathologies “.
The involvement of diabetic patients
“Give me 5” is not only aimed at the parents of partner school students, but also at all adults interested in a better lifestyle and with diabetics or pre-diabetics, for whom nutrition plays an even more important role . “People with diabetes have doubled in the past 30 years – he comments Agostino Consoli, president of SID, the Italian Society of Diabetology -, in 2016 there were over 3 million and 200 thousand. The spread of unhealthy eating habits must be fought through food education, also with practical examples of what is right to eat and what is best to limit. Thanks to the project, patients will be given a book with precise indications, obviously to be respected under the supervision of the specialist doctor “. A healthy diet is also crucial for the cardiovascular system. “Many heart diseases are also caused by an incorrect diet – he explains Ciro Indolfi, president of SIC, Italian Society of Cardiology. Obesity increases the risk of heart attack, as does high cholesterol. As SIC, being involved in this project means giving a voice to the specialists who work every day to remember that primary prevention often passes from the table and that food is not a secondary element of health “.
How the project works
The project – which revolves around number 5, like the colors of food and specially designed superheroes – includes a path that will take place in the primary, with meetings with nutritionists, workshops and games. The teachers will also deal with the promotion of healthy lifestyles, against sedentary lifestyle, smoking and alcohol consumption. Children will be given a kit consisting of a guide on fruit and vegetables and one on the Mediterranean diet, with exercises and explanations. A book of adventures (Giunti Editore) will then be distributed with the superheroes of nutrition as protagonists. Both pupils and teachers will be given a questionnaire every 6 months to check for the change in diet. The teachers will be trained thanks to virtual meetings with the professor Giuseppe Morino, pediatrics and dietician of the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital in Rome.
Parents will be given a manual that will take into account the same path made in the classroom and will actively participate with ad hoc meetings with nutrition experts. A web portal will be created, a culinary talent show that will see adults challenge each other under the watchful eye of the little judges and a food-themed exhibition signed by the sculptor Giuseppe Carta, who has made his artistic and social commitment to food, set up at one of the prestigious historical institutional buildings of the city of Naples. The project partners are the University of Calabria and Sipsia – Italian Society of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy of Childhood.
The Festival of the 5 colors
In May 2022, in Tropea in Calabria, thanks to the collaboration of the mayor Giovanni Macrì, the Festival of the 5 colors will come to life, a five-day event of art, publicity and music. “Campania and Calabria are the regions most affected by overweight and obesity, but eating disorders affect the whole country – he concludes Maria Teresa Carpino, vice president of the association. There is a need to inform and promote correct habits at the table. It is important to address both overweight adults and children and their parents. Through fun contents for children and stimulating for adults we want to convey the importance of what we eat “. “We are happy to have hosted the first steps of this project – declares the president of the Calabria Region Roberto Occhiuto. We are aware of the food problems that affect many of our citizens, especially after the lockdowns that have reduced the possibilities of movement in the open air “.
An international project
The twinning with Chefchaouen, the blue city of Morocco, one of the seven capitals of the Mediterranean Diet, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, gives international scope to the initiative. “The problem of obesity is deeply felt by us – underlines the mayor Mahomed Sefiani -. Taking part in this path is an important opportunity for us. Sharing it with Italy is an added value that can only please us, we would also like to organize the exhibition next summer. For the moment we are happy to have created a synergy with the schools of Naples “. The next stops outside the border are the Italian schools in Spain and Greece.
A contribution to combat juvenile educational poverty
The project was selected by “Con i Bambini” as part of the Fund for the contrast of juvenile educational poverty which arises from an agreement between the foundations of banking origin represented by Acri, the National Forum of the Third Sector and the Government. It supports interventions aimed at removing obstacles of an economic, social and cultural nature that prevent minors from fully enjoying the educational processes. To implement the Fund’s programs, the social enterprise ‘Con i Bambini’ was born in June 2016, a non-profit organization wholly owned by the CON IL SUD Foundation. www.conibambini.org
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