Learning about healthy eating in school?

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AngelDog1
AngelDog1 Posts: 89
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm just curious. It's been many many (MANY) moons ago that I was in school, and I don't have any kids, so I was wondering if they teach about healthy eating habits in school nowadays? I remember having a Health class, but it was probably about a week's worth of the teachers talking about the 4 basic food groups (Now, of course, there is a food pyramid). And although my parents really did their best trying to make sure that we had somewhat nutritious meals (mom preached that we had to have a meat, a vegetable and a starch to be a "proper" meal) but I NEVER learned about portion sizes, or that fiber will help you to feel satisfied, or that you need protein to recuperate from exercise, etc. It's only been since I've been on MFP that I've learned lots of tips to help lose weight. Am I the only one that feels like I missed a whole subject in school?

Replies

  • emills88
    emills88 Posts: 28 Member
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    Your not alone and I'm only 22 so I haven't been out that long. I have recently done a lot of researdh on my own about fiber and proper eating to lose weight and be healthy. They taught me the basics but nothing in depth.
  • DanaR12878
    DanaR12878 Posts: 23 Member
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    Its funny you asked this today - on Tuesday my PRESCHOOLER came home telling me they are learning about the food pyramid!!! I was in shock. So yes they learn about healthy eating in school and very, very early!!!
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
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    as a teacher, I have to focus on the basics. It's the parent's job to fill in everything else. It's my job to teach your kid to read, write, do math, and learn about science and history. Everything else is up to the parents. Schools cannot be all things, nor should they be.



    Sorry for the rant....but no funding + extreme expectations does not equate. :ohwell:
  • emills88
    emills88 Posts: 28 Member
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    I'm not a teacher but I totally get that :smile: My school always had a major lack of funding, as do most I believe. I was lucky and my father is an RN so he would really push for balanced meals, especially making sure there was some form of protein and fruit and/or veggies, the stuff like bread and potatoes weren't a priority for him. Growing up the most sugary cereal I could have was Honey Nut Cheerios lol, I hated it then but he instilled the knowledge in me and gave me a starting point, unfortunately I didn't follow it for a long time, hence why I'm here :laugh:
  • savanahspring
    savanahspring Posts: 27
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    as a teacher, I have to focus on the basics. It's the parent's job to fill in everything else. It's my job to teach your kid to read, write, do math, and learn about science and history. Everything else is up to the parents. Schools cannot be all things, nor should they be.



    Sorry for the rant....but no funding + extreme expectations does not equate. :ohwell:

    I agree...since when is it the job of public schools to teach nutrition?! If you want your child to know all those things, you better learn them yourself and teach him/her. The only people to blame for a child not knowing nutrition is the parents. Period.
  • AngelDog1
    AngelDog1 Posts: 89
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    Its funny you asked this today - on Tuesday my PRESCHOOLER came home telling me they are learning about the food pyramid!!! I was in shock. So yes they learn about healthy eating in school and very, very early!!!

    Awwwww.... that's great! They are so cute at that age.
  • AngelDog1
    AngelDog1 Posts: 89
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    as a teacher, I have to focus on the basics. It's the parent's job to fill in everything else. It's my job to teach your kid to read, write, do math, and learn about science and history. Everything else is up to the parents. Schools cannot be all things, nor should they be.



    Sorry for the rant....but no funding + extreme expectations does not equate. :ohwell:

    Good point.
  • tissyazd
    tissyazd Posts: 221 Member
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    I'm a teacher, too. Well, currently staying home with my 2 year old, but still. I don't think it is the teachers responsibility either, but it doesn't mean that I don't walk by kids eating only the junk in their lunches and not the fruit and remind them they need to eat the fruit. But what gets me is what some schools offer for lunch. I worked at a middle school where they served a healthy school lunch OR the kids could buy a la carte. Kids were actually allowed to buy 6 cookies and eat that for LUNCH! That shouldn't even be an option in school. Middle schoolers are still children who should not be entirely responsible to make a healthy decision for lunch. They are too concerned with making money and offering things that they know the students will by. Sorry there's my rant for the day!
  • ladybugss
    ladybugss Posts: 135 Member
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    as a teacher, I have to focus on the basics. It's the parent's job to fill in everything else. It's my job to teach your kid to read, write, do math, and learn about science and history. Everything else is up to the parents. Schools cannot be all things, nor should they be.



    Sorry for the rant....but no funding + extreme expectations does not equate. :ohwell:

    Well said I was thinking the same thing
  • gambitsgurl
    gambitsgurl Posts: 632 Member
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    My kids 9 & 11 have covered the basics (the pyramid and why fruits and veggies and protein is good) in health class.
  • AngelDog1
    AngelDog1 Posts: 89
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    Whew!!! Thanks all for replying. I was feeling so out of touch. I'm so glad that the "basics" are being taught in school and the "in-depth" is reserved for higher learning (eg college) or through the parents. I agree that teachers have a lot on their plates (:blushing: no pun intended). I was very fortunate like I said that my mom did her best to teach us too. And I'm sooooo lucky to have everyone here on MFP to get all those little bits of tips/techniques to help. I guess I was just feeling a bit old today and was wondering if maybe I had completely missed something while in school. Thanks!:flowerforyou:
  • melodyg
    melodyg Posts: 1,423 Member
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    Well, um... while I understand teachers can't do everything, it stands to reason that in a HEALTH class, kids should be taught about nutrition. I wasn't. (I actually spent most of health class grading papers for the teacher... I'm not entirely sure WHAT he did). I do remember that we had to do an activity in elementary school of logging what we ate for a few days and how it fit into the food groups (now the food pyramid). That was about the extent of my health education!

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