The University is launching a " project " to promote healthy eating habits among schoolchildren

What do food labels say? How healthy was my meal? Did I eat seasonal produce? These are some of the questions that “Eat Well, Live Better,” a web project ed by the Institute of Nutrition and Health at the University of Navarra and aimed at third-grade students, seeks to answer. Its goal is to promote healthy eating habits among children and their families, and to that end, researchers have prepared a series of educational materials translated into Basque and English and captioned for people with hearing impairments.

The " project " is funded by the Government of Navarre as part of the regional Cosmos program and will be implemented, for the time being, in five schools in Navarre: Camino de Santiago (Zizur Mayor), The British School of Navarra (Gorraiz), high school Calasanz - Escolapios (Pamplona), CPEIP Raimundo Lanas (Murillo el Fruto), and high school Santa Luisa de Marillac (Barañáin).

“ project consists of six educational modules, each with three parts: watching a video, a teacher-led ‘ work ’ activity at group , and a worksheet for children to complete a ‘ challenge ’ activity with their families,” explains Nerea Martín Calvo, a researcher at the University’s “School of Medicine ” and director of project. “A ‘ class ’ activity could be seeing who can list the most foods, and a ‘ challenge ’ activity for home could involve finding a healthy alternative to a specific product,” she adds.

Also participating in the initiative are Itziar Zazpe and Santiago Navas, professors at the School of Pharmacy and Nutrition; Elise Fabios, a researcher at the School of Medicine; and Mónica Arias, a professor at the School of Nursing.

Nearly one in four children is overweight

According to the “ report : Weight-Basedstatus s of the Child and Adolescent Population in Spain,” which was published in late 2023, 23.3% of children and adolescents under the age of 18 in Navarre are overweight. This is one of the lowest fees s in the country, but according to the study, the problem has worsened in recent years.  

In this regard, Nerea Martín emphasizes the need to involve families so they can learn about and promote healthy eating at home and take on the challenges presented by project with their children: “We believe that the best time to receive training on nutrition is when you’re a child. The challenges are designed to be difficult enough that children can’t complete them on their own and require the financial aid of their parents.”

According to the researcher, social media facilitates the dissemination of nutrition-related information, but at the same time, there is too much misinformation. “On the other hand, the consequences of poor nutrition—such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, or cardiovascular disease—appear over the long term. This makes it harder for people to realize the importance of following a balanced per diem expenses and eating a healthy diet every day,” she concludes.