According to National Dietary Guideline small change in environment of school helps in reducing child obesity. The research also states that 80 percent of child population still do not have sufficient vegetable and fruit intake.
As per the report, the University of Norte Dame there are various ways to tackle this major issues in elementary school cafeterias.
The researchers of Norte Dame have recently published Cafeteria Assessment for Elementary Schools (CAFES) in BMC Public Health. The CAFES in-depth analysis provides trustworthy assessment tool that quantifies the physical attributes of cafeteria. The
Improvising healthy eating habitat at proper stage which is early stage. Moreover, not every school is aware about sudden environment change that can help in improving the overall data. In addition CAFES generate a list of improvement in the elementary schools specific to their cafeteria. This data further help in providing data for developing the guideline of healthy school habit.
Utilization of Proper Guideline Help in Tracking Health Improvement
The professors also examined how natural and built environment affects physical health and mental health. The CAFES suggests brief guidelines to improve eating habits among the children, which includes placing fresh food in the menu. Those also include manipulating the portion size like changing the plate size, and bowl size, menu presentation and improving the standard of food. Also, the attractive design of cafeteria may help in boosting the overall growth among the children.
Proper utilization and implementation of CAFES guidelines may improve the eating habits of the children.