Providing children with immunisations against childhood diseases is only the first step in ensuring that children grow and are healthy. Clean water and adequate food are also essential.

It is a paradox that in poor countries there is not enough food at affordable prices for the people, where as in rich countries, where food is plentiful, we eat foods which are considered unhealthy for us.

Do your Scouts know which foods to eat to keep healthy?

 

 

Programme Ideas

Eat for Life
1. Invite each Patrol to use a different method to promote healthy eating. They could prepare a fact sheet for other young people, make an advert. write a poem or song or make a poster. They can then present their work to other young people.

Fresh Ideas
2. For your next Troop or Patrol camp, devise a menu for a week using only fresh foods that is no tins or packets. How will this affect your week or weekend at camp? Does it limit your menu or encourage you to be more adventurous?

Ups and Downs
3. Make a list of all the exercise undertaken in a normal week and a list of all the sweets and canned drinks consumed in a week. Challenge the Scouts to increase the
amount of exercise by 25% and reduce the amount of sweets eaten by 25%.

Many young people are now developing allergies to food additives causing problems such as asthma and hyperactivity. This is thought to be due to the increase in preservatives added to our food.

An Apple a Day
4. Invite a local doctor, nurse or dietician along to talk to your Scouts about healthy eating and the diseases which result from unhealthy eating.

In poor countries people often get trapped in the hunger cycle.

Break the Cycle
5. Give each Patrol a copy of the hunger cycle (Please note this is an Adobe pdf document for which you will need a pdf viewer or plug into your existing browser) Ask them to think of a way of breaking the cycle. They could show the Troop their ideas in a short play or mime.

One third off
6. Write out and cost a menu for a weekend camp for your Patrol. Now reduce the amount of money to be spent on food by one third. The Scouts will still be hungry and need nutritious food.

Devise another menu with your new budget. What foods have been changed? How will this change your preparation and food storage at camp?

Use your new menu at the next Patrol camp and donate the money saved to charity
To be healthy, people need a balanced diet made up of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and oils, vitamins and minerals.

There is enough food produced in the world to feed everyone, with some to spare, if only it were divided equally amongst everyone. There is great inequality amongst food distribution both between countries, and amongst people within countries.

Very often, natural disasters such as droughts and floods are blamed for food shortages. But this is only half the story. Droughts and floods hit hardest at those already living on the margins of survival. Bad weather forces them over the edge and causes permanent damage forcing them to sell their land, animals and belongings. The poverty of so many people makes them vulnerable to such disasters.

To help the Scouts experience this inequality why not try the following activity. For up to 30 players. Who are the Lucky ones? (The Peanut game)