By IJEOMA UKAZU
Helping young people develop a positive relationship with food will go a long way in guiding them to become the healthy, self-reliant adult they ought to be.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF), after early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence – the period from age 5 to 19 – is the second window of opportunity for growth, psychosocial development, and establishing lifelong dietary and lifestyle habits.
The UN body further said, “Good nutrition during this period fuels growing brains and bodies, and improves school enrolment, educational achievement, and cognition. Nutritious diets also allow some children and adolescents to experience catch-up growth after stunting in early childhood.
“Many of them miss breakfast; eat too few fruits, vegetables, fish, and dairy products; and regularly consume snacks high in sugar, salt, and saturated fat.”
Statistics from UNICEF states that “About 21 percent of school-going adolescents consume vegetables less than once a day; 34 percent eat fruit less than once a day; 42 percent drink soft drinks daily, and 46 percent consume fast food at least weekly.”
Nutrition expert and consultant, Chineye Odoputa told The Daily Newswave, “Most young people find it extremely difficult in making healthy decisions about what they should eat and drink. The challenge for others is limited access to a variety of nutritious food and if not tackled would lead to deficiencies in essential micronutrients, such as iron.
Odoputa adds that factors such as peer pressure as well as the constant desire to fit in among friends drive young people into making unhealthy food choices, and aggressive food marketing have a great influence on what young people eat.
She adds “The most challenging of them all is fast food and already prepared snacks which is on almost every turn in most urban cities and even in and around schools. These should be discouraged to enable young people to eat healthy and nutritious foods.”
To encourage and inspire young people to lead healthier lifestyles by eating right, Nestlé Nigeria engaged some students in Lagos during this year’s International Chefs Day event.
The event was organized by Nestlé professionals during the International Chefs Day event tagged: “GROWING A HEALTHY FUTURE” held at the new Lagos State Culinary Academy, Ikeja, with students from public and private secondary schools across Lagos state.
The target of the Chefs Day event is to promote well-being, healthy eating habits as well as a healthy lifestyle.
Taking some learnings from the training, an excited SS2 student of Ilupeju Senior Grammar School, Hope Shulamite shared her experience, “I am happy that I was chosen to be part of this event. I particularly enjoyed creating the recipes and cooking with the chefs and members of my group.
“I will try out the recipe again at home and in school with my friends during our home economics practical. On behalf of all the students here today, I want to thank the organizers for giving us this wonderful learning opportunity”.
While Nestlé continues to inspire young people who are the future generation to lead a healthy life by eating the right food, it is contributing to attaining the 2030 nutrition target set by world leaders to combat nutrition deficiencies.
Addressing participants at the event, Business Manager, Nestlé Professional, Funmi Osineye stated “The wellbeing of children is the fundamental goal for parents and caregivers. It is also an indicator of societal development. We are therefore committed to working with stakeholders to enhance the well-being of generations to come through nutrition education as well as the continuous provision of high-quality nutritious food and beverages. Today’s event is a platform for continuous engagement to encourage children to be creative with food”.
Funmi acknowledged the Association of Professional Chefs Nigeria for consistently partnering with Nestlé to achieve the company’s global objective of helping 50 million children live healthier lives by 2030.
She said, “We want to thank the Association of Professional Chefs Nigeria for partnering with us through the years. We are also grateful to the administrators of the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board for their collaboration to celebrate Chef’s Day 2022. We are delighted to witness the sincere interest in skilling up young people in Lagos State for gainful employment in the hospitality sector”.
Lending his voice, the National President, of the Association of Professional Chefs Nigeria, Paul Okon adds “It has been a great pleasure engaging, educating, and enlightening children on healthy eating as we believe this is the foundation for a healthy future.
“We sincerely appreciate the role Nestlé Professional has played over the years, promoting Nigeria’s Food Tourism, supporting the capacity development of Chefs, and empowering the next generation of Chefs”.
In her comments, the Executive Secretary, of Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board, (LASTVEB) Moronke Azeez said, “We are delighted to be working with Nestlé on this laudable initiative which has been very impactful and a great learning exercise for the children. The event is fully aligned with the objective for the recent establishment of the Lagos Culinary Academy aimed at producing professionals for the hospitality and food service industry while equipping students for entrepreneurship and self-employment”.
The event was commemorated via a fun-filled educative workshop and practical sessions coordinated by the chefs with a hands-on approach for the children, creating recipes out of fresh food items including vegetables, and fruits, and preparing healthy dishes during the cooking sessions.
The beneficiaries of the training came from Public and Private Secondary schools in Lagos, and the Lagos State Technical College. Other participants included Chefs from the Lagos State Chapter of the Association of Professional Chefs Nigeria.
Nestlé and the Association of Professional Chefs Nigeria have been partners since 2014, making value-adding contributions to the food service industry, and helping to bring nutrition, health, and wellness education to present and future chefs.