Responding to a rise in diet-related chronic diseases such as obesity, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has published a guide on good eating habits targeting primary school children, DPA quoted the Rome-based UN agency as saying in a statement Tuesday. The guide is intended to assist teachers, nutrition experts and officials to educate the children on healthy nutrition, said the FAO, which had been prompted to act by a rise in diet-related diseases including excess weight and obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular problems. While hunger and undernourishment remains a major problem in many countries, "globalization and economic development have introduced new foods and altered dietary habits and lifestyle patterns in many developing countries as well," FAO nutrition expert, Peter Glasauer, said in the statement. "Migration from rural communities to urban areas, for example, is on the rise," with ever fewer people producing their own food, he added, "and the majority depending entirely on commercial food supply. Nutrition education in primary schools is an effective way of promoting good nutrition." FAO said children should be made aware of how to achieve a nourishing diet with limited means; how to prepare and handle food safely and how to avoid food-related risks. The UN agency also stressed that children, as future parents, needed to know about the benefits of breastfeeding and complementary feeding, and be able to educate their children to follow a well- balanced, good-quality diet. Globally, 1.6 billion adults are overweight, and at least 400 million are obese. Two out of three overweight and obese people now live in low and middle income countries, with the vast majority in emerging markets and transition economies, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The FAO guide, which is available in English and French, includes a book that explains key nutrition and health processes, a set of worksheets for planning a teaching course and a classroom chart.
