Life Skills-based Nutrition Education

Abstract

After the implementation of the Fundamental Law of Nutrition Education, specific items for"instruction in nutrition"were incorporated in school education; this was the beginning of health and nutrition education in schools. Reports on the eating habits of youth indicate that they have an unbalanced diet; they prefer western food and dislike vegetables. They are unhealthy because they eat irregularly, i.e., they skip breakfast, or eat alone. It has been confirmed that eating breakfast is related to sleep and wakeup times, appetite in the morning, attitude toward the importance of breakfast, self -esteem, social skills, and good nutrition behavior among family members.Life skills that according to the WHO are an essential part of the health education of young people can build self -esteem. The life skills comprise: decision -making skills that involve the ability to identify problems, obtain information, and predict results; goal -setting skills that involve the ability to set an attainable goal, achieve and practice it; communication skills; and stress -management skills.We developed and popularize a Life skills -based nutrition education program for children. The aim of this program was to modify the unhealthy eating behavior of skipping breakfast and consuming unhealthy snacks. Children are taught to prepare snacks by themselves and plan a healthy breakfast; they are also taught to brainstorm, roleplay, and case studies in order to gain and strengthen their life skills. Thus, the children develop healthy behavior through repetitive training and can learn to solve problems by themselves in real life. It is believed that this learning helps children strengthen their self -efficacy by teaching them to find solutions by themselves to