No more BMI, diets or ‘bad’ foods: why changing how we teach kids about weight and nutrition is long overdue

Tue, 5 Mar 2024 21:18:35 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/no-more-bmi-diets-or-bad-foods-why-changing-how-we-teach-kids-about-weight-and-nutrition-is-long-overdue-222605>

"How many of us recall having to calculate our body-mass index (BMI) as
children at school, prompting comparisons of our weight with that of our peers?
Or perhaps we remember references to calories and diets in the classroom.

Now, the Australian curriculum is changing how children and young people are
educated about their bodies and what they eat, in a bid to prevent eating
disorders.

Hundreds of references to terms including BMI, weight, calories and diets have
been removed from school resources by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and
Reporting Authority, replaced with terminology such as “balanced nutrition”.

As a clinical psychologist specialising in the treatment of children and young
people with body image and eating disorders, I welcome these changes. Given
what we know about the links between weight stigma and the development of
eating disorders, they’re long overdue."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

Comment via email

Home E-Mail Sponsors Index Search About Us