On 07 October 2015 the TANF team provided the second health talk at the Seven Stars Academy and Happy Home Preparatory School. The aim of this particular talk is to educate the young/teenagers on how to maintain a balanced diet and to stay healthy by handling their food in hygienic conditions.
Charity, our qualified nurse presented the talk at both schools and commenced with defining the word nutrition. Nutrition is the supplement or nutrient you get from food which is required by the organisms and cells to stay alive.
The seven major types of nutrient were explained by Charity, which are; carbohydrates, protein, fat, fibre, minerals, vitamins and water. Good nutrition helps to maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk of chronic diseases and to promote your health. The TANF nutrition poster displayed behind Charity during both talks added a visual effect for the children to help their understanding.

The next stage of Charity’s talk was to bring the reality of the recommended balanced diet for each day to their attention. At times, it can be assumed that young people know what they should be eating and how to prepare their food, however unfortunately not every parent has shown their children how to be nutritious. Charity advised both classes the importance of eating breakfast and the differences of suggestion meals for maisons and students.
All of the children really enjoyed Charity’s simple concept of every meal should at least have three or more colors! This is an easy and good method for young people to remember and put into practice at home and at school.
Students were eager to ask questions and the following were answered, how is a balanced diet important to our everyday life? Is it good for a student to eat Waakye (mixture of rice and beans) in the morning? Is it good to eat one diet for the whole day? Is acid good for the body? Which of the food groups obtains the most amount of sugar? Can you eat sugary food in the morning? Is it good to put salt on food after preparing it?
Both talks went smoothly and all children and staff were pleased with the presentation by the TANF team. We are looking forward to future nutrition talks with other schools.
#eatwellandstayhealthy