Nutrition Education in Primary Schools, Volume 2, The Activities: A Planning Guide for Curriculum Development

i
Nutrition Education in
Primary Schools
Vol. 2: The Activities

i i Nutrition Education in Primary Schools: The Reader
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ISBN 92-5-105454-1
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© FAO 2005

i i i
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements v
NOTES FOR FACILITATORS AND WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS 1
INTRODUCTION 13
PREPARATORY UNIT 1 – A GOOD DIET 17
PREPARATORY UNIT 2 – MALNUTRITION AND ITS CAUSES 31
PHASE A: CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES 45
Unit A1 Health and healthy lifestyle 47
Unit A2 A good nutrition education curriculum (1): the tripartite approach 65
Unit A3 A good nutrition education curriculum (2): the classroom curriculum 77
Unit A4 Learning approaches to nutrition education 93
PHASE B: SITUATION ANALYSIS 113
Unit B1 Local health, diet and food 115
Unit B2 Health and nutrition interventions and local knowledge 129
Unit B3 Links with family and community 145
Unit B4 The school environment 167
Unit B5 Classroom curriculum content and framework 181
Unit B6 Classroom approaches and classroom resources 197
PHASE C: ACTION PLANS 211
Unit C1 Priorities and strategies 213
Unit C2 A programme for the whole school 227
Unit C3 The classroom programme 245

v
Acknowledgements
FAO’s Food and Nutrition Division would like to thank the many people
who gave their advice and guidance during the preparation of this
publication. In particular, we would like to thank the following people for
their substantial contributions: Peter Glasauer of the Food and Nutrition
Division, the technical editor of this resource package, was responsible for
initiating, guiding and managing this project; Jane Sherman, the primary
author of the final manuscript, developed the current version of the
material, integrating many lessons learnt from using the draft document in a
field project in Zambia (GCP/ZAM/052/BEL).
A first version of the publication was developed in co-operation with Jeltje
Snel of the School Nutrition Education Section of the Netherlands Nutrition
Centre (NNC), The Hague, drawing considerably on her specific experience
of the subject matter from her active and longstanding participation in the
European Network of Health Promoting Schools. During this initial phase of
the project, Franz Simmersbach, then Senior Officer of ESN’s Nutrition
Education and Communication Group, provided much appreciated
technical guidance and encouragement.
FAO gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the following individuals
from other United Nations (UN) agencies, academic institutions, and
governmental and non-governmental professional organizations who
reviewed earlier drafts and versions of the material: in particular, the
participants of a review workshop in 1998 for the initial draft, organized by
Rina Swart of the University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa; staff
of Community Life Projects, Westville, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, under
the supervision of Phillipa Davis, who integrated feedback obtained during
the workshop in South Africa and produced an early version of the
material; Huon Snellgrove and Hugo Bowles of La Sapienza University,
Rome, who made valuable contributions to early drafts of the final version;
the participants from five countries of the Caribbean region, UN agencies,
and regional and international professional organizations who tested and
commented upon an advanced draft of the current version during a review
workshop in Trinidad and Tobago in April 2002, organized by Michael
Kallon, curriculum specialist of the University of the West Indies, and
George Gowrie, teacher educator, Ministry of Education, Trinidad and
Tobago; Jack Jones of the then School Health Team (HPR/HEP) of the World
Health Organization, who was very supportive of the project over the years
and provided valuable inputs at various stages.
Encouraging support and valuable technical comments were provided by
Ellen Mühlhoff of the Nutrition Education and Communication Group of
FAO’s Food and Nutrition Division.
Copyediting of the final manuscript was carried out by Damian Bohle with
the advice and support of FAO’s Publication Management Service.
Xilef Welner was responsible for layout and design, and undertook the
desk-top publishing of the main text. Joanne Morgante prepared the cover
design, the classroom curriculum chart and many illustrations. Mel Futter
provided illustrations. Rosemary Allison checked the document proofs.

1
Nutrition Education in Primary Schools • Vol. 2: The Activities
Notes for facilitators and workshop organizers
NOTES FOR FACILITATORS AND
WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS
PURPOSE – WHAT IS THE AIM?
The Planning Guide is an exercise, a procedure for designing or improving a nutrition
education curriculum. It is usually run as a workshop involving a number of people
who are concerned with the health and education of schoolchildren. These participants
agree on principles, identify needs and take decisions about the nutrition education
curriculum, based on these principles and needs.
As explained in the Introduction (B4 User and uses), the curriculum planning exercise
can be done at different levels – national level, district and regional level, at the level
of individual schools or groups of schools, or as an initial teacher training exercise.
Depending on the level, the workshop may aim at producing a policy document, a
national curriculum, or action plans for school classrooms and school environments.
Facilitators will need to adapt their approaches according to the perceived purpose.
Some of the activities are geared specifically to the local level, but there is guidance for
national level curriculum developers at the beginning of each unit of the Reader.
PARTICIPANTS – WHO WILL TAKE PART?
Facilitators and workshop organizers need to ensure that the workshop participants
represent the main stakeholders, and that there is appropriate representation from
other relevant sectors and from important sources of information or aid. There are
three sorts of participant:
Participants from the education service – Depending on the level of the project,
these may be:
• several teachers and other staff from one school;
• a selection of staff from several schools and resource centres;
• head teachers, inspectors and teacher trainers at district level;
• trainee teachers in an institute of education;
• inspectors, curriculum developers, writers, teacher educators at national level;
• policy-makers at national level.

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Other main stakeholders belonging to the school “environment” and who must be
involved are:
• parents and families (local or national PTA);
• non-teaching school staff or their representatives;
• health services and school health services, including nutritionists;
• school feeding programmes.
Since it is difficult to involve children in the workshop directly, participants should understand
that they have the extra duty of representing children’s interests and points of view.
Representatives of other sectors and organizations - Other interested groups are:
• community services, community organizations
• agricultural extension services
• NGOs and aid agencies
• teachers’ unions
• the media (local or national)
• exam boards and publishers.
Depending on their interest or their importance to the project these may be invited to
participate in the whole workshop, or invited to attend one or two sessions as guest
consultants or speakers.
The intersectoral approach applies at every level (local, district or national). For example,
at local level parents and health services could be represented by the school PTA and
the local clinic; at national level, by the national PTA and the education officer of the
Ministry of Health.
Every member of the workshop makes an essential contribution to this planning exercise
in experience and expertise. All full participants should therefore nominate a deputy in
case they have to be away, and all workshop materials should be available to the deputies.
Action
Answer these preliminary questions:
• What level is the workshop aimed at?
• What does it aim to produce?
• Who are the main participants?
• Who can/should be invited to make a special contribution?

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CONTENT AND SCHEDULING – WHAT ARE THE MAIN PHASES? WHO NEEDS THEM?
The five phases of the workshop are outlined in the Introduction (B3 Outline, and
Table 2 and in Figure 1 at the end of this chapter).
Before the main workshop
Preparatory units: These provide basic nutritional information required by the
workshop and establish common ground on ideas of good and bad diet. The units should
be studied by all participants before the main workshop, either individually or in special
preparatory sessions. Expert nutritionists should also look through them to ensure that
they share the the standpoint of the Guide and that it is appropriate to the local context.
Data-gathering (the initial assessment phase): Data have to be gathered on the
nutrition situation, the schools and the curriculum (see Information Input below).
This is essential to the situation analysis in Phase B and must therefore be done before
the main workshop, or during Phase A, or both.
The main workshop
Phase A Concepts and Principles: (Four units) This establishes the main nutrition education
principles and the approaches promoted in the Planning Guide – the concept of health,
the holistic idea of nutrition education, appropriate learning approaches. Both the Reader
and the Activities are essential at all levels as a foundation for a shared approach.
Phase B Situation Analysis: (Six units) This analyses the health and education situation
in detail, based on the data gathered and the expert opinions of the participants, and
establishes priority needs. The Phase B activities are geared to local schools but the
same questions must be asked and answered at national level (see Notes for National
Curriculum Developers at the beginning of each Reader unit).
Phase C Action Plans: (Three units) This applies the principles and approaches to
dealing with the needs, and produces principled action plans for improving nutrition
education in the school environment and the classroom. The activities in this phase
are mainly aimed at local schools working in collaboration with PTAs and the health
sector. However, the activities are also essential for national planners and curriculum
developers if they are concerned with helping schools to integrate new curriculum
content, adapt to new approaches, respond to local needs and practices, and extend
nutrition education into the family, community and the school environment.
Each unit takes about four hours to complete. The main workshop (13 units) will
therefore require about ten days of full-time activity (11 if the Preparatory Units are
included as group sessions rather than as individual preparation), or four months at one
unit a week, or the equivalent.

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Action
Decide the scheduling for the workshop, allowing time for preparatory collection of data. If the
Preparatory Units are to be circulated beforehand for individual work, allow appropriate time for
them to be completed; if not, organize workshop sessions to cover them.
INFORMATION INPUT – WHAT INFORMATION IS NEEDED AND WHERE WILL IT COME FROM?
Some of the data necessary for the Phase B situation analysis will be available at the
workshop in the persons of participants and guests. Some will be in published
documents. Some will be gathered by means of questionnaires or focus groups (see
Questionnaires and data sheets below). The data required are listed on the title page of
each activities unit and are summarized in the table below.
Sources
Participants and guests
Agro-ecological descriptions of the region
Questionnaires and data sheets
Descriptions of grant schemes and funding
possibilities
Literature on school feeding programmes
Research reports on health and nutrition problems
Food composition tables (local, if they exist)
Expert participants and guests
National dietary guidelines (if they exist)
National curriculum documents and national
syllabuses for appropriate subjects (e.g.
environmental science, home economics)
School course descriptions
Teaching materials in relevant subjects
Kind of information needed
Information on agriculture, climate, development
in the area, region or country (Unit B1)
Information about the school and its
environment and the community resources for
nutrition education (Units B3, B4, B5, B6)
Information about health and nutrition in the
area (Units B1 and B2)
Information about the present school curriculum
for nutrition education (Unit B5)
Information about the players, such as teachers,
school staff, parents, and children. (Units B2, B3,
B4, B5, B6)
Informants and sources will differ according to the level of the planning exercise. The
questionnaires and data sheets are designed for local level, but at national level the
same kind of information will need to be gathered. This can be of aggregate, national
or regional nature, where available. Otherwise, specific small-scale exploratory surveys
in selected regions may need to be conducted. These will provide an adequate basis
for decisions about the focus and content of nation-wide school-based nutrition
education programmes.
Most of the sessions, and especially those in Phase B, can and should have inputs from
appropriate expert participants or guests, who may make short presentations or simply
be available to answer questions. Such inputs provide information, illuminate points

5
of view, provoke discussion, harness the group’s expertise, and help to vary the workshop
activities. In this way, a discourse community is created. If the workshop is to be
repeated, it is a good idea to record the inputs in some form: they can also provide raw
material for future teacher education packages.
Collecting data and documentation, and making contacts, should be spread among
participants rather than done single-handedly by workshop organizers. The work needs
to be coordinated and organized well in advance.
Action
Decide how the information is to be collected – for example, by distributing questionnaires,
collecting documentation, arranging focus groups or inviting experts. If the workshop is to be held
over a long period there will be more time to organize. Call a preliminary meeting of participants to
explain what’s needed, and allocate responsibilities.
MATERIALS – WHAT DO WE HAVE TO WORK WITH? HOW DO WE USE IT?
The Planning Guide consists of the Reader, the Activities, the Classroom Curriculum
Chart and the Questionnaires/Data Sheets.
The Reader is a summary text which outlines the nutrition education principles and the
curriculum planning process. It contains cross-references showing what activities should
be done and when (e.g. „ACTIVITY 1 ). It acts as a reference text: facilitators will need
it for preparing workshop sessions; participants can use it for preparatory or follow-up
reading. It can also be used on its own, as a summary of the Guide, for advocacy or
information.
The Activities, the core of the planning exercise, develop and firm up the ideas and
processes outlined in the Reader, and are used to arrive at decisions and conclusions.
The workshop sessions consist mainly of these activities, reinforced by inputs from
experts and experienced practitioners. Each activity has a suggested length (e.g. 30
minutes). Some have Keys, which are printed at the end of the unit. These are not
“right answers”, but give the comments and opinions of the Guide for comparison
with participants’ own conclusions. A few activities (marked Optional) are only for
reinforcement.
The results of each unit’s work are summarized in documents of record (called Display
Documents) on which decisions are later built.
The Classroom Curriculum Chart is an extensive plan for a classroom curriculum and
is used for selecting and planning the classroom programme. Several copies are needed.
The Questionnaires and Data sheets are to be completed by or on behalf of health
professionals, parents, children, teachers and other school staff. They gather much of

6
the information necessary for the situation analysis in Phase B (see Information Input
above). The findings from each group are summarized on a Data Sheet for easy
reference. If the workshop has a limited participation (e.g. mainly teachers), the
questionnaires are particularly important to make sure that other voices are heard.
All participants should have individual copies of all the materials so that they can
prepare for sessions, catch up on missed sessions or follow up unclear points. This also
allows all participants to act as facilitators, and to repeat the workshop (or parts of it)
with other groups.
The figure on the next page illustrates how the individual materials of the Planning
Guide are meant to be used for arriving at a nutrition education work programme.
Action
Distribute all materials to all participants and their deputies, preferably at a preliminary meeting.
FACILITATING AND ORGANIZING – WHO ARE THE FACILITATORS AND ORGANIZERS? WHAT DO
THEY DO?
The Planning Guide is a collaborative exercise to which all participants contribute.
All the information is available to all participants, and the participants are in charge of
the process.
This affects the way the workshop is organized and run. There should be one or two
permanent organizers, but any participant can act as facilitator, or the role of facilitator
can be rotated among all or several of the participants. This has several advantages:
• it makes good use of human resources;
• it reflects the distributed ownership of the exercise;
• the group doesn’t get bored with one facilitating style;
• facilitators tend to do their best if they have only one or two sessions to run;
• good facilitators can be used several times;
• poor facilitators can be used minimally.
Specific expert participants – such as nutritionists, teacher educators, head teachers,
council members – can be asked to run particular sessions, e.g. on diet, teaching style,
classroom conditions, school environment. Having two facilitators for each session is
also desirable: it spreads the load and improves the quality.

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THE ROAD TO EFFECTIVE NUTRITION EDUCATION – USING THE MATERIALS OF THE PLANNING GUIDE

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Ways to organize the workshop
Options are:
a) The facilitators prepare the session, and take the participants through the Activities
(participants read the Reader as a follow-up or if they miss the session).
OR
b) Participants read the Reader before the session and go through the Activities
together in the session.
OR
c) Participants prepare some parts of the Reader and some of the Activities before
coming to the session.
Option (a) is preferred by many as the participants come fresh to the subject, existing
ideas and positions get a good airing, common positions are worked out on the spot
and it is not necessary for everyone to have done their homework. Options (b) or (c)
can be used to speed up the process if time is limited.
The organizer’s job
Organizers are responsible for:
• getting the necessary permission and funding;
• contacting and keeping in touch with workshop members;
• contacting and inviting extra participants and speakers;
• tracking down important documentation;
• scheduling and timetabling;
• organizing a preliminary meeting for distributing materials, organizing data
gathering, appointing facilitators;
• organizing travel, accommodation, refreshments;
• finding premises, distributing materials and ensuring materials are provided (pens,
paper, etc.);
• organizing facilitators;
• introducing the sessions;
• setting up a final evaluation;
• organizing follow-up.
The facilitators’ job
Some time before the session, facilitators should check what human and information
resources are needed (speakers, documents) and make sure they will be available.

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Before the session, facilitators should prepare well in advance by:
a) reading the Reader and looking through the Activities and the Key;
b) deciding what needs special emphasis;
c) adapting the content to the local situation (if necessary);
d) deciding what can be skipped or reduced;
e) deciding if participants need to prepare part of the material before the session;
f) deciding how the activities are to be organized (plenary, pairs, groups, reporting
back, etc.);
g) deciding approximately how long activities/inputs should take;
h) briefing any other workshop participants or guest experts they want to involve;
i) making photocopies;
j) assembling paper, pens and so forth;
k) liaising with the organizer(s) as necessary.
At the beginning of each session facilitators should:
a) make sure the main document display is in place;
b) make sure all necessary documents are available (there is a list in each Activities
unit).
Facilitators should start the session by:
a) recalling what the workshop has done so far and where it is going;
b) outlining the content, purpose, and objectives of the unit, and the expected outcomes;
c) indicating what activities are to be done in the session, including any inputs from
speakers, with an approximate time allocation.
During the session facilitators should:
a) welcome and introduce any visitors, chair any sessions with visiting speakers, and
thank them;
b) organize the activities, e.g. decide how to feed back;
c) provide connecting links between the activities;
d) actively monitor group work;
e) make breaks and organize “loosening up” physical activities as necessary;
f) keep an eye on the time, or organize a timekeeper to do this;
g) arrange to display key concepts, conclusions, ideas, and manage the main display.
At the end of the session facilitators should:
a) allow five minutes for summing up;
b) decide what needs to be done for the next session and who will do it;
c) end on an upbeat note.

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Above all, the facilitators should set a tone of independent enquiry, exploration and
decision. The Planning Guide is a guide, no more – the conclusions must be the
conclusions of the workshop.
Other participants
If the workshop is hosting expert informants, facilitators should ask them to act as
advisers and resource persons rather than as instructors. They should listen, answer
questions, correct misconceptions, fill in important gaps and make short prepared
inputs, but not take the initiative away from the participants.
Action
Decide who will be the facilitators (preferably two for each session) and allocate the tasks at a
preliminary meeting. Draw facilitators’ attention to these briefing notes.
ACTIVITIES – HOW SHOULD THE ACTIVITIES BE ORGANIZED?
Pairwork, groupwork or plenary discussion?
The instructions sometimes specify whether an activity should be done in plenary
session, in small groups, by individuals, or in pairs. But mostly it is for facilitators to
decide. The choice will depend on:
• the size of the whole group – is it too big for useful discussion?
• the scope of the activity – does it need to be distributed among several groups?
• how many different areas are represented in the workshop – for example, are there
three different schools/regions with different plans and policies?
Group work is not a good in itself, but is valuable for allowing everyone to be heard,
exchanging information, generating ideas, establishing points of view, and coming to
planning decisions. It is also essential where a group represents a particular school or district.
If there are several technical experts in the workshop, spread them around the groups.
Although group activities do serve to take the pressure off facilitators, they should
not be seen as facilitators’ free time. Groups need to be monitored to make sure they
do not go off on a tangent. Participation in the groups keeps facilitators informed and
helps them organize feedback better.
Organizing plenary feedback
Group work generally takes time, as it often requires a plenary feedback session.
Facilitators should consider if this is necessary. For example, it may be valuable for
groups to share their policy decisions about the school environment, but detailed
implementation plans may not be so interesting to the group as a whole. Ways to
organize plenary feedback are:

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• All groups report to plenary. This is time-consuming – groups should be asked to
reduce their conclusions to three short points, display them and answer questions
about them.
• Each group sends a reporter to each of the other groups to explain their conclusions.
• Groups display their conclusions on a poster and leave a group member to stand
by it and answer questions, while they circulate to look at others’ posters and ask
questions.
Display documents
Each unit results in a display document. These are pinned up one by one to form the
“big picture” of principles and key concepts, priority needs and favoured approaches,
on which action plans will be based. Suggestions for the layout of the main display are
given at the end of each Activities unit. See also the back cover of this booklet. Facilitators
should make sure there is enough wall-space (visible to all) for this display, and that it
remains in position throughout the workshop.
At the end of the workshop the main display exhibits all the thinking and planning of
the group. It can be used for future reference by curriculum planners or for
presentations to interested outsiders. It can be turned into a booklet, transformed into
PowerPoint slides, and so on.
Apart from the main display, facilitators should decide what else needs to be exhibited
and in what form. Several copies of the Classroom Curriculum Chart should be pinned
up; information about nutrition and malnutrition from the Preparatory Units will
also be useful. Other useful reference documents may be local dietary guidelines,
curriculum documents and (local) food composition tables. Group conclusions can
be written on flipchart sheets; ideas can be written on cards and posted up for
discussion, classification and so on.

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INTRODUCTION
Introduction
INTRODUCTION

✐
CONTENT
1. Nutrition, health and education
2. The Planning Guide
WHAT YOU NEED
People All participants contribute to these activities: health
experts, nutritionists, teachers, educationists, administrators
Information Your own experience and expertise is all the information required
Planning Guide, Vol 1: The Reader, Introduction; figure 2 in
Introduction
Equipment Flipchart, coloured marker pens, poster paper (or use a flipchart
sheet)

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Introduction
INTRODUCTION
NUTRITION, HEALTH AND EDUCATION
ACTIVITY 1
What are the connections between nutrition, health and education? For example,
teachers can act as role models for children, demonstrating a healthy lifestyle. This
connection is represented by the arrow in the figure below.
HEALTH
Healthy Healthy
Lifestyle people
NUTRITION EDUCATION
Teachers can
act as role-models
Healthy School
Eating
Good food Teachers
a) In plenary session, brainstorm all the connections you can think of – long-term as
well as short-term. This is just to air the question – there are no right answers!
b) Draw lines between the elements and write in the connections.
c) Copy up the diagram on the board or on a flipchart.
d) What do you think are the cause-and-effect connections between the three sections
– health, nutrition and education? Discuss this all together.
e) Refer to Figure 2 in the Reader Introduction. Get a volunteer to copy out Figure 2
on a poster, and display it for future reference.
¡
20 minutes
tt

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INTRODUCTION
Introduction
ACTIVITY 2
¡
15 minutes
THE PLANNING GUIDE
Here are some statements about the Planning Guide, the basis of this workshop.
a) Read each one aloud and think of any questions that come to mind. Record the
questions in a list and divide them up between you.
b) To get answers to your questions, you can:
• ask the Facilitator OR
• read the INTRODUCTION to the Planning Guide, Part B.
c) Find out the answers then report back to the whole group.
STATEMENT 1
The Planning Guide is an exercise in developing a nutrition education curriculum based on the needs
of the area and involving all the relevant players.
STATEMENT 2
The purpose of the Planning Guide is to help curriculum developers plan and produce curricula and
materials for nutrition education in primary schools. Planning curriculum development may involve:
• changes in the classroom curriculum;
• new teaching materials and materials for teacher training;
• ideas for incorporating nutrition topics into other subjects;
• special lessons, projects and materials on urgent topics;
• research by schools and pupils into food and diet in the area;
• ways of involving parents and the community;
• a school policy document on health and nutrition;
• action plans for the school environment;
• a staff training plan;
• new working groups – for example, a school Health and Nutrition Committee, special task forces;
• new contacts for the school – for example, with local clinics, local industry, NGOs.
STATEMENT 3
The Guide has three main phases. Phase A establishes the principles, Phase B deals with situation
analysis, and Phase C develops an action programme.

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PREPARATORY
UNIT 1
Preparatory Unit 1 • A good diet
PREPARATORY UNIT 1
A GOOD DIET

CONTENTS
1. A good diet
2. Why do we need food?
3. What nutrients do
4. Foods and nutrients
5. Your own diet (optional)
6. Individual needs
7. Good and bad diets for schoolchildren
8. Dietary guidelines
9. The local diet
10. Summing up
Poster material: A GOOD DIET
Key to Activities
WHAT YOU NEED
People If the facilitator is not a nutritionist, ask a nutritionist or health
worker knowledgeable in nutrition to run this session, or to sit in
as an adviser.
Information This expert may also be able to adapt the Tables and Figures in
the Reader to the local situation.
Documents Copies of national dietary guidelines, if they exist, for Activity 9.
Local food composition tables if available.
Equipment A large flipchart sheet to make a poster, and coloured marker pens.
N.B. As far as possible, adapt the content of this unit to the local situation, substituting
local foods and food practices.
✐

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PREPARATORY
UNIT 1
A GOOD DIET
ACTIVITY 1
¡
30 minutes
1. A good diet is a healthy diet. Discuss what you think are the elements of a “good
diet” and write your ideas below. You may get some ideas from the words and
pictures below (but these are certainly not complete). Pool your ideas.
2. Check your ideas with the definition of a good diet in the POSTER MATERIAL
at the end of this unit (and in the Introduction to the Reader unit). How many of
these concepts did you touch on?
3. Add any missing elements to your table.
In the following activities we are going to follow through several of these aspects of
good diet.
Elements of a good diet
A good diet is/has/provides:
e.g: a variety of foods
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protein traditional breakfast fruit and vegetables
variety meat individual needs minerals
meals energy snacks taste
cereals sufficiency safety frequency

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PREPARATORY
UNIT 1
WHY DO WE NEED FOOD?
What exactly do we need food for? Brainstorm the possibilities:
e.g: for energy
ACTIVITY 2
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Check in the Key.
¡
20 minutes

20
PREPARATORY
UNIT 1
WHAT NUTRIENTS DO
You probably remember the main nutrients:
• carbohydrates
• proteins
• vitamins
• fats
• minerals
ACTIVITY 3
These nutrients carry out all the functions you discussed in the previous activity.
Do you remember the functions of each one? What do they do in the body?
1. Here are six quiz questions – discuss them and see if you agree on the answers.
(Note that we are talking about nutrients, not about specific foods.)
a) What nutrients supply energy? .........................................................................................................................................................................
b) What is the relationship between fats and vitamin A?
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
c) Why is protein important for children? .
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
d) What nutrients are needed for repairing and maintaining the body?
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
e) What is particularly important for healthy bones and teeth?
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
f) What is particularly important for the eyes?
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
2. Check with Fact sheet 1, The main nutrients, their functions and food sources, at the
end of Preparatory Unit 1 in the Reader, or with the summary version in the Poster
Material at the end of the unit.
3. Make up three more quiz questions about the functions of nutrients and ask these
questions of each other.
¡
20 minutes

21
PREPARATORY
UNIT 1
FOODS AND NUTRIENTS
ACTIVITY 4
How good is your nutritional knowledge of particular foods, and in particular of local foods?
1. To refresh your memory, discuss what foods are rich in particular nutrients and fill
in the table below. For example, peas and beans are good sources of vegetable
protein, but also supply plenty of carbohydrate, as well as some minerals and
vitamins.
2. Check your ideas in Fact sheet 1, The main nutrients, their functions and food sources,
in Preparatory Unit 1, or in the summary in the Poster Material at the end of this
unit. For local foods, you will need to call on your local expert or local food
composition tables.
Nutrients Good sources
Proteins .............................................................................................................................................................................
Carbohydrates .............................................................................................................................................................................
Fats .............................................................................................................................................................................
Vitamin A (animal vegetable) .............................................................................................................................................................................
B Vitamins .............................................................................................................................................................................
Vitamin C .............................................................................................................................................................................
Vitamin D .............................................................................................................................................................................
Iron .............................................................................................................................................................................
Calcium/Phosphorus .............................................................................................................................................................................
Iodine .............................................................................................................................................................................
3. See if you have a good idea of the nutrient content of some common local foods.
Divide into pairs. One person looks at the table, Selected foods and their main nutrient
content, in the Reader (Preparatory Unit 1, Table 1) and selects a food that is
common to the area. The other person has to guess what nutrients the food is
particularly rich in (if any).
After a few minutes change roles.
4. Report back to the whole group on any findings which surprised you.
¡
30 minutes
Meat, ......
Beans, .......

22
PREPARATORY
UNIT 1
YOUR OWN DIET
(Optional)
1. Make a list of the foods you eat in a typical day.
ACTIVITY 5
¡
20 minutes
......................................................................................... .............................................................................................. ........................................................................................
......................................................................................... .............................................................................................. ........................................................................................
......................................................................................... .............................................................................................. ........................................................................................
......................................................................................... .............................................................................................. ........................................................................................
......................................................................................... .............................................................................................. ........................................................................................
2. Run through your list with one or two partners.
Ask their opinion.
Does your diet appear to have enough…..
Protein? Yes No
Vitamin A? Yes No
Iron? Yes No
3. If not, what foods could be added to improve your diet?
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

23
PREPARATORY
UNIT 1
INDIVIDUAL NEEDS
A B C D
Running child Bedridden old
woman
Manager working
at desk
E F G
Labourer
Baby Pregnant woman Child in school
ACTIVITY 6
¡
15 minutes
What? ...................................................................................................... How much? .........................................................................................
How often? ...................................................................................... When? ...........................................................................................................
An old Caribbean joke:
There was one chicken for dinner. How many chicken legs did the man get?
- One? No!
- Two? No!
He got THREE chicken legs.The woman got the bones. The children got the gravy.
Does everyone in the house get the food they need?
• What are the special dietary needs of these people?
• How should their diets be composed – amount of food, types of food, frequency?
1. Discuss and record your ideas.
2. Check with the Key.
A)..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
B)...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
C)..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
D)..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
E)..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
F)...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

24
PREPARATORY
UNIT 1
ACTIVITY 7
¡
20 minutes
GOOD AND BAD DIETS FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN
Shown here is one day’s eating and drinking for five different school-age children. Of
course, one day’s food is not a diet, but let’s assume that this day is typical. We are not
considering individual needs – for example, a child who walks five kilometres to school
will need more energy than one who lives near their school.
You should ask these questions –
• Are there enough foods from each food group? The groups are: cereals, roots and
tubers, fats and oils, legumes (peas/beans/groundnuts), vegetables, fruit, animal foods.
• Is there enough variety in general?
• Is there enough of each nutrient – proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals?
• Does the diet sound appetizing?
• Is the food well distributed through the day?
What would be your comment on these diets? Take one each, discuss and report back.
Before you start, find names for the children.
Children First meal Mid-morning Midday Mid-afternoon Evening
A Coffee and Coffee and Spaghetti Tea Meat,
bread roll bread roll with tuna vegetables
B Cereal and Banana Egg with Fruit Vegetable
orange juice mushrooms soup with barley
and bread
C Rice Rice and Rice and fish
vegetables
D Nothing Coke and Cheese Cup of tea, Sausage and
chocolate bar sandwich potato crisps chips, ice cream
E Maize meal Roast cassava Maize meal, fish,
porridge pumpkin leaves
You’ll find some comments in the Key at the end of the unit.

25
PREPARATORY
UNIT 1
DIETARY GUIDELINES
ACTIVITY 8
National dietary guidelines aim to guide countries in improving their diets.
Refer to the Examples of dietary guidelines for the general public in the Reader, Preparatory
Unit 1, Fact sheet 2, and also to the Guatemala Food Guide in The Reader, Preparatory
Unit 1, Figure 2.
Study the guidelines drawn up for other countries – take one set for each group.
• Find the most frequent messages.
• Find any guidelines that you think apply to your own country.
• Compare them if possible with dietary guidelines prepared for your own country.
• Report back to the whole group.
¡
15 minutes

26
PREPARATORY
UNIT 1
THE LOCAL DIET
ACTIVITY 9
1. What is normally eaten in your area? Look at the Family mixed meal guide below.
Discuss the local diet in the same way. For example:
“In our region the staple food is nshima, made from cassava flour. We eat this at lunch
and at supper. We have the nshima on one plate, and on another plate we have one or
two “relishes” – usually a dish of vegetables, and some kind of meat or fish in a savoury
sauce, which we eat with the nshima. There is vegetable oil in the sauce and all sorts of
flavouring. Sometimes we cook pounded groundnuts with the vegetables, which is very
tasty. We don’t usually have eggs or dairy products with the main meal, and we don’t
usually eat fruit after the meal either.”
2. Does the diagram fit? Is it a useful way to describe your local diet? Is it easy to see
how the diet could be improved?
¡
15 minutes

27
PREPARATORY
UNIT 1
SUMMING UP
You have looked at:
• the general idea of a good diet;
• what food does for the body;
• nutrients and their functions;
• the nutritional content of various foods;
• good and bad diets;
• individual needs;
• a way of describing a diet and seeing how it can be improved;
• national dietary guidelines.
ACTIVITY 10
On the next page is a summary of some important ideas and facts about diet from this
unit, in the form of poster material.
1. Display
Arrange to enlarge the next page or copy it, and display it as a poster for future
reference. Leave it on display throughout the curriculum planning exercise so you
can refer to it when needed.
If you have a copy of your national dietary guidelines, add them to the display.
2. Test yourself
Use the poster material to test yourself or your partner. Ask:
• Can you say what a good diet consists of?
• What are carbohydrates for? What are fats for? And proteins? And vitamins and
minerals?
• Name some foods which are rich in Vitamin A, or protein, or fat … etc.
• Give an example of a local food that is rich in iron, protein, etc.
3. Presentation
If you are in a group, make groups of three. Take one of the Key Messages each
and explain them to each other, giving details and examples.
N.B. The details and examples are essential!
¡
15 minutes

28
PREPARATORY
UNIT 1
POSTER MATERIAL
A GOOD DIET
A good diet consists of
• Enough
• Varied
• Nutritious
• Safe
• Enjoyable and acceptable
• Food and drink
• For all the household
• Throughout the day
• Throughout the year.
Nutrient functions
Carbohydrates and fats are for energy, growth, maintenance.
Fats also help us to absorb some vitamins, especially Vitamin A.
Proteins are for growth and maintenance.
Enzymes (also proteins) are for basic body functions.
Vitamins and minerals are for proper functioning, repair, health, development, protection against
infection.
Rich in carbohydrates cereals, starchy root vegetables
Rich in fats oils, meat fats, dairy fats, margarine, nuts, some fish
Rich in proteins meat, fish, beans, groundnuts, dairy products
Rich in vitamin A liver, eggs, dairy products, carotenes in dark-coloured fruits and vegetables
Rich in iron meat, fish, poultry, liver and other organ meats. Also legumes, dark-green leafy
vegetables, dried fruits and groundnuts. Vitamin C helps to absorb iron from
vegetable sources
Rich in iodine seafood, foods grown on iodine-rich soils and iodine-enriched salt
Rich in vitamin C many fruits and vegetables
Rich in B vitamins dark-green vegetables, legumes, cereals, meat, groundnuts, fish and eggs
Rich in vitamin D fish oils, eggs and milk
Rich in calcium and milk and dairy products
phosphorus
WE NEED A VARIETY OF FOODS TO BE HEALTHY AND GROW.
DIFFERENT GROUPS HAVE DIFFERENT DIETARY NEEDS.
A HEALTHY DIET IS NOT SOPHISTICATED OR EXPENSIVE.

29
PREPARATORY
UNIT 1
KEY TO ACTIVITIES FOR PREPARATORY UNIT 1
„ACTIVITY 2 Why do we need food?
Some answers are:
• to stay alive • for protection against diseases
• to satisfy hunger • for proper functioning of all parts and systems of the body
• for energy • for repair
• for warmth • for growth
• for socializing • for enjoyment?
(hospitality, celebrating,
caring and sharing)
„ACTIVITY 6 Individual needs
All these people need all kinds of food. But in particular:
a) and g) All children, whether they are playing or studying, need a lot of energy
and high protein foods for activity and growth. They also need to eat frequently,
because their needs are large and their stomachs are small.
b) This person is old and sick. It may be important to give her easily digested food, or
food which doesn’t need to be chewed. If she has diarrhoea the most important
thing is liquid. If she is not eating very much we must especially make sure she gets
enough micronutrients.
c) The manager has a sedentary job and if he spends a lot of time at his desk he shouldn’t
eat too much fat and carbohydrates. Other than that, he needs all kinds of food.
d) This man is using up a lot of energy, which needs to be renewed with energy-giving
foods (cereals, potatoes, fats and oils).
e) The baby needs a diet rich in all nutrients. Breastmilk is the best food he can get
and he should be fed at least four or five times a day.
f) A pregnant woman has to eat for two, since her unborn child is growing all the
time. She needs a diet rich in all nutrients, and more food than usual.

30
PREPARATORY
UNIT 1
„ACTIVITY 7 Good and bad diets for schoolchildren
KEY TO ACTIVITIES contd.
A Plenty of animal protein, but not enough fruit and vegetables; only one kind of cereal.
B A good diet, with plenty of fruit and vegetables, fibre, grains, carbohydrate protein.
C Needs much more variety, and some snacks to keep going.
D An urban child? This diet badly lacks fruit and vegetables and has too much sweet food.
E Needs more variety, more fruit and vegetables, and a good midday meal.

31
PREPARATORY
UNIT 1
PREPARATORY UNIT 2
MALNUTRITION AND ITS CAUSES

CONTENTS
1. Terminology
2. Effects of malnutrition
3. Recognizing signs
4. Reforming A … (optional)
5. What’s wrong with E …? (optional)
6. The causes of malnutrition
7. The role of education
8. Summing up
Poster material: MALNUTRITION AND ITS CAUSES
Key to Activities
WHAT YOU NEED
People Ask a nutritionist or health worker knowledgeable in nutrition to
run this session or to sit in as an adviser. School Health Service
personnel would be particularly welcome as well.
Information Your own experience of local children’s behaviour.
Course documents The poster from Preparatory Unit 1 should be on display.
Equipment A large flipchart sheet to make a poster, and coloured marker pens.
N.B. As far as possible, adapt the content of this unit to the local situation, substituting
local foods and food practices.
✐

32
PREPARATORY
UNIT 2
Preparatory Unit 2 • Malnutrition and its causes
TERMINOLOGY
ACTIVITY 1
¡
20 minutes
Start by getting the vocabulary right. Here are some of the terms used when talking
about malnutrition:
• Undernutrition
• Malnutrition
• Overnutrition
• Hunger
• Protein-energy malnutrition
• Micronutrient
• Deficiency
1. Discuss the differences between them.
• Which is the most general term? Which other terms are covered by it?
• Which terms are the result of specific lacks in the diet?
• Which terms have to do with quantity?
• Which is the most subjective term?
2. Check your ideas on the page of POSTER MATERIALS at the end of the unit.

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