Nutrition Promotion Program for High School Students

Task Assessment 2: Nutrition Promotion
Student’s Name
Address
Date
To
Name
CEO, Local Council
Address
Date
Dear Madam,
I am a postgraduate student from Deakin University and a current Health Promotion
Officer at a local council in an outer eastern Suburb in Melbourne. Given my level of expertise
and educational background on health and nutrition promotion, I would like to offer my services
to your school in developing a nutrition promotion program that will improve the health
condition of students at your school. This objective can particularly be achieved by promoting
healthy eating and subsequently preventing prevalence of overweight and obesity among the
adolescents in your institution.
It is worthy to note that unhealthy eating, overweight and obesity are primary and current
health issues that are on the rise. Evidence suggests that high dependence on energy dense,

nutrition poor (EDNP) foods are the primary causes for these problems. Most worryingly is the
fact that these health issues are further associated with other adverse health conditions such as
diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and even stroke. Furthermore, young people are at high
risk of exposure to unhealthy foods and once they develop a tendency to crave EDNP foods, they
are likely to carry such unhealthy behaviors into adulthood. (1)It is therefore crucial that a
nutritional program that reduces consumption of energy dense foods while at the same time
promoting the consumption of foods that are rich in nutrients be promptly developed.

Nutrition Promotion Program
Introduction
It is no doubt that young adults and particularly adolescents are a desirable target
population for EDNP foods and beverages given the role of marketing strategies which are
specifically tailored to their suiting. Marketing campaigns have used techniques to normalize
brands associated with unhealthy foods and beverages. (1)Young people have thus accepted such
foods which are plenty within their environments to be a cultural norm with many of them
spending significant amount of money on them. However, this population group increasingly
continues to lack the basic educational background on the dire impacts associated with such
foods. Vendors of such foods have done little to educate young people on healthy eating given
that they are private business entities whose sole purpose is to make profits regardless of the
harm that they inflict on the consumers. (2) Notably, EDNP foods and beverages have been the
primary cause of overweight and obese cases with many school children inculcating such eating
behaviors into adulthood.
Younger adults are at the highest risk of becoming overweight and obese. For instance,
the current crop of youths and adolescents has the highest prevalence of obese cases compared to
the previous generations and unlike other population groups. Preventing the prevalence of such
crises is one of the key public health priorities and schools as well as communities should realize
the importance of handling such issues before they prevail. (3)As is the case in the high school in
Melbourne, many young people have preferred the consumption of EDNP foods and beverages.
Despite having a nearby wholesale fruit and vegetable market, the school lacks a
supporting environment that can foster consumption of healthy foods. For one, the parents

encourage students to eat in fast food restaurants which serve poor nutrient foods such as fries,
hot chips, cakes and sugar sweetened beverages. Such items are rich in calories and sugar which
could result adverse health issues later on in life. The vendors are also profit oriented and have
minimal education concerning healthy eating thereby further exacerbating the situation. The
environment also does not support nutrition education taught in schools with no nutrition
promotion initiatives being undertaken by the school. The staff are however open to health
promotion initiatives.
To address the above stated scenario and further prevent other associated health effects,
there is dire need to develop an action plan that contains evidence-based interventions. On this
note, a well-defined and practical school-based food policy coupled with marketing strategy that
focuses on calorie labeling has been proposed. (4) Likewise, the main purpose of this program is
to develop evidence-based strategies that are effective in improving the nutritional quality of
food and beverages that are served within the environs of the high school. (5) The quality of food
can ideally be improved by supporting the consumption of fruits and vegetables that are cross to
the proximity of the school and also minimizing the purchases of energy dense foods.
Strategies for the Program
Consumer Marketing
WHO reiterates that given the vulnerability of the younger populations on EDNP foods
and beverages, priorities should be placed on reducing exposure to unhealthy foods and beverage
marketing. This can be done by regulating the market where such products are marketed. Given
the CEO of the local council has the mandate to regulate the market for such goods and
specifically shopping strip which contains multiple fast food outlets. Regulating or limiting the