Nutrition is a branch of science that analyzes the effects of various constituents of food on the health, metabolism, performance, and disease resistance of an organism. A child with the right balance of omega fatty acids in their daily diet has a much better chance at creating a more solid foundation for their brain activity and capabilities later on. One of the main reasons why nutrition is so important for children is because they simply don’t know enough on their own to naturally choose to eat well.

In our country, not all children enjoy a balanced meal or proper nutrition especially those belonging to the families beyond poverty line. Poverty is a major factor that negatively affects children’s nutrition, and hence their development. Poverty leads to substandard nutrition and poor motor skills in children. There have been consistently numerous negative associations between poverty in childhood, malnutrition and poor academic results.

According to the United Nations World Food Program, hunger is a key hindrance to learning especially among school children. To help address this adverse reality, the Department of Education embarked on the School Based Feeding Program with the goal of eradicating hunger among public school pupils. The most undernourished pupils are provided with daily lunch for 120 days. First, the recipients are determined by each class advisers by getting the BMI or body mass index of the pupils. Once the wasted pupils are determined, they will be fed for 120 days with the supervision of the teachers and parents.

With this kind of program, the problem on malnutrition would be beneficially answered. If the children are assured of not having empty stomach once they are in school, positive results like better school performance aside from improvement in their nutritional status may be guaranteed.

By: Mrs. Marlyn Q. Macapinlac | School Clerk | Cataning Elementary School