This years National
Nutrition week ran from October 9th -13th and was focussed on Healthy Eating
for Children.
More
than half of South Africa’s children under the age of nine are deficient in
Vitamin A, with more than one in ten being iron deficient. This affects their
growth, development and school performance. According to the national food
consumption survey 2005, ten percent of South African children under nine are
overweight and four percent are obese. This co-existence of both
under-nutrition and over-nutrition, places a double burden of disease on the
country.
Mamelani
facilitators chose to highlight some key messages around healthy eating to the
broader public on Friday October 9th at Site C taxi rank and on Monday October
12th at Nyanga taxi rank. Information was shared with parents and caregivers,
who are the ones responsible for preparing food for their children, about cooking
methods that retain maximum vitamin and mineral content of food. Information was also shared regarding how to prepare a balanced meal and the importance of eating a variety
of fruit and vegetables was also shared.
The awareness days included
competitions, songs and lively debates with men and women, young an old.
