The Relationship between Nutrition and Learning - A school Employee's Guide to Information and Action

Abstract:
This guide was developed to assist school employees - teachers, nurses, administrators - in understanding the relationship between nutrition and learning, and to help schools make an educational difference by solving students' nutritional problems. The guide is divided into two parts. Part I provides an introduction into the relationship between nutrition and learning. Topics include: early nutritional influence on a child before he/she reaches school, the widespread problem of poor nutrition among school-aged children, the impact of food programs on the nutritional status and learning ability of school-aged children, and how hunger, malnutrition, obesity, sugar, and food additives can affect learning and behavior. Part II focuses on putting schools' knowledge of these problems into action. The guide suggests: ensuring children have access to child nutrition programs, ensuring children receive both healthy food and comprehensive nutrition education, and developing a school nutrition policy. Also included are concrete examples of how to achieve each of these goals and highlights several federal child nutrition, food service programs. The conclusion stresses that with the information already available to us and the nutrition programs currently in place, with increased emphasis placed on these issues, schools can make a nutritional and educational difference.


Date Published: 1/1/1989

Pages: 41

Comments:
Contact the National Education Association for further information on how to obtain a copy of the guide.

Location Code: 18126