Researchers from the Silesian Medical University (SUM) will check how 6th and 7th grade pupils in primary schools eat. Within the framework of the project ‘Health steps – education and science as determinants of a healthy and open society’, free cooking workshops and dietary advice have been prepared for teenagers and their parents.

The project ‘Health Staircase – education and learning as a determinant of a healthy and open society’ consists of two phases. The first part, already underway and running until March 2024, involves screening for anthropometric measurements (including height, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference) and body composition analysis.

SUM staff will also check on eating behaviour and attitudes towards food among parents and pupils in primary school grades 6-7. In the second stage, the students selected in the overweight/obesity screening together with their parents/legal guardians will be included in a nutrition programme.

Proper nutrition is particularly important during adolescence due to the very intense growth and maturation processes taking place during this period of life. Nutritional deficiencies in terms of quantity and quality contribute to deterioration of health, impairment of the functioning of individual systems, e.g. the immune system, reduced efficiency of the cardiorespiratory system, disruption of the normal development of bone tissue and excessive irritability and reduced concentration, and consequently lead to poorer performance in school by children and adolescents.

On the other hand, excessive food intake during adolescence leads to the development of overweight or obesity, which can be caused by an inappropriate, family-established diet, especially an excessively high calorie diet, an excess of products containing fat and sugar, and low physical activity.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński