How to Educate People on Healthy Eating

It is important to teach people about the benefits of healthy living, and about the harmful effects of poor eating habits. It is never too early to teach young children about eating healthy, and to instill good habits in children. Teachers, parents and other relatives are the best individuals to teach children about healthy eating. No matter what age, anyone can learn better eating habits. All it takes is knowledge about the differences between healthy and unhealthy eating habits.

Things You'll Need

• Visual aids

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Instructions

• 1

  Review the different types of food groups. It is important to note which foods contain vitamins and nutrients the body needs. Explain how much of each type of food the body needs. Also explain how different food options can be exchanged for others. Different types of vegetables can be exchanged with fruits, and different nuts can provide appropriate amounts of protein.

• 2

  Explain which foods contain unhealthy ingredients. This is particularly important for people that eat a lot of fast foods. It is also important to explain that drinking lots of soda and sugary drinks can be unhealthy as well. These types of foods also do not contain the nutrients and vitamins that the body needs. Explain that eating these foods is okay when done in moderation, but not okay when they make up the majority of a person's diet. Explain health risks such as obesity, heart disease, high cholesterol and other health problems that can arise from poor eating habits.

• 3

  Use different visual aids, especially when teaching younger children. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute have some great visual aids that can teach people appropriate serving sizes. A great example of this is that meat and fish should be the size of a deck of playing cards. For kids, it is also important to take them along on grocery shopping trips. This will help teach them what foods are healthy and where to find them at a store.

• 4

  Teach people that healthy eating does not have to taste bland. Healthy food can taste great and can be easy to make as well. There are many online recipes and healthy-living cookbooks that showcase healthy recipes. Going over these recipes will help encourage older people to eat healthier, and will also make them feel like they can be in charge of what they eat.