For a week, CSIR-CFTRI celebrated the National Nutrition Week-2023 at government schools and colleges of Mysuru, spreading the importance of nutrition for leading a healthy life.
The theme of this year’s Nutrition Week is “Healthy diet going affordable for all” and various activities were organised for government school and colleges to create awareness on the importance of nutrition and its role in leading a healthy and disease-free life.
National Nutrition Week is an annual event observed in India that focuses on raising awareness about the importance of nutrition. It is commemorated every year in the first week of September. The week-long event is an initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India for educating the people on the significance of balanced diets, adequate nutrition, and the impact of the right food choices on improving overall physical and mental health.
National Nutrition Week accelerates its action towards promoting the nutritional status of women and children. The government is keenly focussing on the primary life stages in women — pregnancy, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, thus going with the theme “Suposhit Bharat, Sakshar Bharat, Sashakt Bharat”, a release said here.
The event took off with a lecture on importance of micronutrients in growth and development for schoolchildren of Government High School Hootagalli followed by a quiz competition. A talk on general nutrition and benefits of millets was organised for students of Government Junior College, Vontikoppal, Mysuru, and a ‘pick and speak’ competition on various concepts of nutrition was conducted, the release said.
A debate competition was organised on ‘Benefits of traditional vs modern foods’ for high schoolchildren in CFTRI School and the importance of good nutritional practices was emphasised. Essay writing competitions were conducted for CFTRI students and employees on lifecycle nutrition.
The week was concluded by the valedictory function where Dr. Praveen Kulkarni, Professor in Community Medicine and Vice-Principal, JSS Medical College, Mysuru addressed the gathering and he touched upon the current nutrition scenario, dietary practices and corrective measures from the medical perspective.
He elaborated the actions needed to make healthy diets more available and accessible for all Indians and sustainable diet recommendations.
The session was presided by Dr. Vijayanand, Chief Scientist and Head, Fruit and Vegetable Technology, CSIR-CFTRI who emphasised on the dietary approaches as solutions for correcting malnutrition and mentioned about the malnutrition alleviation programmes undertaken by CSIR–CFTRI in his remarks.
Winners of various competitions were awarded with certificates and mementos during the event. The awareness programme covering more than 300 students was very well received and was appreciated by the children and teachers, the release said.
