March is National Nutrition Month
Does your school have plans to celebrate National Nutrition Month in March? Just as the kitchen is the center of a home, National Nutrition Month is a great time to make the cafeteria the center of your school. The American Dietetic Association slogan for National Nutrition Month 2003 is “Healthy Eating, Healthy You.” The National School Breakfast Week slogan, which is promoted by the American School Food Service Association, is “Make Your Morning Count.” Implementing the message of these slogans will help make your school cafeteria and classrooms a festive, joyful, and happening place during this exciting month! National
School Breakfast Week is scheduled to be celebrated Research studies demonstrate that students who eat breakfast perform better and have less absenteeism than those who do not have this meal. Eating breakfast on a daily basis has a significant relationship with improvement in test scores and reduced absenteeism and tardiness. Children who do not eat breakfast frequently have inadequate intakes of calories, protein, calcium, and other nutrients that affect not only academic performance, but also their health and growth. In addition, children do not have the ability to compensate for the missed meal as adults do. Numerous studies have documented the positive relationship between eating a nutritious breakfast and increased educational achievement. The reverse of this is true as well. Children who begin their school day without breakfast demonstrate a steady decline in attention in the late morning hours, a negative attitude toward their school work, and a drop in scholastic achievement. Growling stomachs are more than just a distraction to the learning process. A concentrated effort is needed to encourage the consumption of breakfast, whether at home or school, to improve the nutritional well being of our students.
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