Essay Example on Comprehensive School Nutrition

Source: FAO: Nutrition guidelines and standards for school meals A report from 33 low and middle-income countries

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Citation: FAO. 2019. Nutrition guidelines and standards for school meals: a report from 33 low and middle-income countries. Rome. 106 pp. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

Summary: FAO is a reliable source of information on nutrition-based topics and research findings for people across the board. Therefore, it offers information on the nutrition guidelines for 33 low and middle-income countries, their characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, and challenges

Assessment: while FAO offers the needed data and information in the document, they fail in addressing the issue fully, since they are not comprehensive in providing information on high-income countries, and they also do not address specific countries, and therefore their information is fairly general.

Farm-to-School Programs

Source: Farm-to-school: Strategies for urban health, combating sprawl, and establishing a community food systems approach

Citation: Vallianatos, M., Gottlieb, R., & Haase, M. A. (2004). Farm-to-school: Strategies for urban health, combating sprawl, and establishing a community food systems approach. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 23(4), 414-423.

Summary: The article provides the necessary information on the farm-to-school program, from the definition of terms to the characteristics, the advantages and disadvantages of the program, as well as the challenges that the program faces.

Assessment: The article sufficiently covers the topic from all angles, and therefore, it should be recommended for people with little or no knowledge of the subject matter.

School Gardens

Source: Swank & Swank: Student Growth within the School Garden: Addressing Personal/Social, Academic, and Career Development

Citation: Swank, J. M., & Swank, D. E. (2013). Student Growth within the School Garden: Addressing Personal/Social, Academic, and Career Development. Journal of School Counseling, 11(21), n21.

Summary: the rise in cases of school-goers becoming unruly due to the pressures of the urban environments that they live in and the challenges that the environments pose to the learners has been addressed through establishing school gardens, which will offer psychosocial support to help the learners to cope with the conditions they face.

Assessment: The issues addressed in the article are well-articulated, and the data provided is reliable. I would, therefore, rate the article as reliable and would recommend it for research on the topic

Competitive Foods

Source: CDC: Competitive foods and beverages in US schools: A state policy analysis

Citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Competitive foods and beverages in US schools: A state policy analysis. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services.

Summary: due to the obesity scourge facing children going to public schools due to the food that they are offered at school, there have been calls for regulation on the food provided by the schools to ensure that they are nutritious, apart from just serving the purposes of feeding the children.

Assessment: The piece offers spot-on information, with facts and figures supporting its findings, further giving the document relevance and the aspect of reliability.

Obesity concerning nutrition

Source: Kim & Lim: Nutritional Management in Childhood Obesity. Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome

Citation: Kim, J., & Lim, H. (2019). Nutritional Management in Childhood Obesity. Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome, 28(4), 225.

Summary: the research paper addresses the causes of the childhood obesity experienced in school-going children, its effects, and the management of the situation to curb the adverse effects

Assessment: the article provides up-to-date information on the challenge of childhood obesity and offers practical solutions to the issue. It is, therefore, an original article that should be used in further research.

Culinary education for staff, students, families

Source: CDC: Parent engagement: strategies for involving parents in school health

Citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Parent engagement: strategies for involving parents in school health. 2012.

Summary: it has been noticed that there are reduced impacts on the fight against obesity and the promotion of healthy living through healthy foods if the school systems are the only fronts through which the issue is addressed. Therefore, there have been increasing calls for the school systems to provide the learners, school staff and the parents with culinary education, so that they will prepare healthy meals even from home, thus ensuring that a healthy lifestyle is maintained throughout.

Assessment: the alternative options and perspectives in the article offer the readers with the information that they need on the possibility of ensuring that the learners have healthy food from the home and school environments that they are in most of the time, and this way, they will be able to lead healthy lives that will offer them the opportunity to grow as productive members of society.

Nutrition lesson ideas

Source: Pepino: Nutrition, education, and awareness-raising for the right to adequate food

Citation: Pepino, S. (2014). Nutrition, education, and awareness-raising for the right to adequate food. FAO.

Summary: the need for a healthy lifestyle for school-going children is on the rise, and the inclusion of the nutrition studies in the education system will provide the learners with the opportunity to experience nutrition, its values, and reasons for it being practiced first-hand and in the early stages of their lives so that they may be encouraged to uphold these standards throughout their lives. It is, therefore, important that the instructors tasked with the duty to provide the education be provided with viable teaching resources to make the learning more effective.

Assessment: if the recommendations of the article are followed, it will be possible to address the issue of obesity and lack of healthy meals in the young school goers, since the lessons will be more impactful in their delivery and the messages enclosed in them.

Smart snacks in schools

Source: USDA: Guide to Smart Snacks in Schools

Citation: USDA, F. (2016). A Guide to Smart Snacks in Schools.

Summary: the current school systems offer school-going children with unhealthy snacks, which pose a threat to their healthy well-being. Therefore, the introduction of smart snacks will mean that the snacks provided are vetted and that they pass the nutritional requirements for the children their age.

Assessment: the article provides the reader with the needed information on the ways through which they can give school-going children with snacks that will take care of their nutritional needs as well as providing the children with the fun that snacks bring.

Family wellness activities involving nutrition

Source: UNICEF: Children, Food and Nutrition: Growing Well in a Changing World

Citation: UNICEF. (2019). Children, Food, and Nutrition: Growing Well in a Changing World.

Summary: families need the opportunity to socialize and engage in nutritional activities. Therefore, there is a need for the families to be provided with the events through which they can achieve these goals, which the article does efficiently.

Assessment: This article offers refreshing ideas on activities that would help families achieve cultural activities needed in providing nutritional and other wellness activities that will provide the society with the opportunity to experience wellness and health.

Inclusion of Exercise with Nutrition

Source: Koehler & Drenowatz: Integrated Role of Nutrition and Physical Activity for Lifelong Health.

Citation: Koehler, K., & Drenowatz, C. (2019). Integrated Role of Nutrition and Physical Activity for Lifelong Health.

Summary: dietary nutrition will not have the expected results if it is not coupled with physical exercise. Physical exercise helps the body to tone the muscles, while nutrition provides just the needed nutrition to help build these muscles. It is, therefore, essential to include the two aspects for better effects.

Assessment: the article offers the readers with the information needed on the activities that they undertake to achieve full health benefits from the inclusion of exercise and nutrition in their daily activities. It is reliable, and I would recommend it for anyone that is concerned with the subject matter.