Members of the PEI Healthy Eating Alliance are helping students learn more about making healthy food choices at home, at school and when eating out.
Dietitian Diana MacLennan of the Healthy Eating Alliance and UPEI dietetic intern, Teri McComber visited Colonel Gray High School this week to talk about the foods that students are eating and how they can make simple substitutions that are healthier and tasty.
Diana MacLennan’s main message for the students when eating fast food is to eat it in moderation. “Moderation doesn’t mean giving up foods you love, it means having a smaller amount less often. It’s not just what you eat, but how often and how much, that really makes the difference,” she said.
Students in Suzanne Lee’s Family Life class at Colonel Gray were the first to see the Healthy Eating Alliance’s new fast food display which is a visual and dynamic display of the sugar, fat and sodium (salt) content of commonly consumed fast food meals.
Teri McComber says the display is very effective in helping students to easily understand how much added sugar, sodium and fat is in the food they are eating. “When they see that there are approximately 10 teaspoons of sugar in a small cola, 14 teaspoons in a medium cola, and 21 teaspoons of sugar in a large cola, they stop and think about whether they will order a smaller size or choose a healthier drink such as milk or water,” she said.
Teri McComber also talked to the students about how to make better meal choices when eating out. She suggested that instead of ordering a regular combo meal, students can enhance the nutritional value and reduce the calories, fat, sugar and sodium in their meal if they order the burger with a side salad and a bottle of water, 100% fruit juice or low fat milk.
Diana MacLennan says price can be a determinant in the choices students make about food. “We try to give them ideas on how to bring tasty, nutritious, lower-cost foods from home as well as ideas for choosing healthier options at school,” she said. “If they bring a turkey sandwich, banana, yogurt and juice from home, it would cost about $2.40, compared to buying a chicken burger combo which is about $6.40. Bringing lunch could save them $4 a day, $20 a week or $80 a month, which is a lot of money, especially for a student,” she said.
The PEI Healthy Eating Alliance continues to make steady progress in creating healthy, supportive eating environments for Prince Edward Island children and youth.
Dr. Jennifer Taylor, Healthy Eating Alliance president, reviewed the highlights of the year at the well attended annual meeting of the Alliance earlier this month. The major highlights of 2008-2009 included the expansion of school breakfast and snack programs; the development of school nutrition policies for intermediate and high schools, and early childhood education centres; direct support to schools through networking meetings, school visits, presentations, newsletters and healthy eating tips; nutrition education materials for school staff, food service and volunteers; and the development of a new website at www.healthyeatingpei.ca.