Kids need to learn about healthy lifestyle choices– Coseteng

MANILA, Philippines - There is a need to introduce children to the concept of a healthy lifestyle to enable them to make “good choices” for themselves later in life, according to former senator Nikki Coseteng.

“When we talk about improving the profile of our citizenry, it is not just academics. It is also making the people realize that lifestyle is a choice that you make, a lifelong choice that you have to make,” said Coseteng, who is the president and chief executive officer of the Diliman Preparatory School (DPS) in Quezon City.

DPS was chosen by the Department of Health (DOH) last February as the pilot school for the implementation of the guidelines and standards of its Health-Promoting School (HPS) program.

Coseteng said it has been DPS’ mission to produce students who are not only academically excellent, morally upright and socially responsive but healthy as well.

 â€œIt’s a lifelong training program … No child was born craving for fries. It is the parents who teach them to eat fries. We are the ones who are poisoning our children,” she said in an interview on the sidelines of a partnership meeting with HPS partners and sponsors Friday.

She boasted that even before partnering with the DOH, the DPS has long been advocating a healthy lifestyle by weaning students from sugar-rich snacks and drinks as well as food heavy in salt, fat and preservatives.

Themed living

As part of its advocacy, the DPS implements a “week of healthy living” theme, starting with “meatless Mondays,” when only fish, fruits and vegetables are served in the cafeteria.

Parents, faculty and staff are encouraged to do one hour of dancing on “zumba Tuesdays” while students are made to take longer routes within the campus as part of “walk on Wednesday.”

Students are encouraged to do good deeds, think positive thoughts and appreciate the beauty of creation on “thankful Thursdays” while on “fruits and veggies Friday,” students and staff are supposed to bring larger portions of fruits and vegetables to eat in school.

Coseteng said there is also the “stay fit Saturday” when students are encouraged to enjoy outdoor activities and do household chores with family and friends and “funday Sunday” when students can do “feel-good activities with family and preparing for another meaningful week ahead.”

She added that in implementing its programs, DPS makes it sure that the parents are also involved so that what the students learn in school will carry over to their homes.

Captive population

Dr. Ivanhoe Escartin, DOH National Center for Health Promotion director, said that in pushing for a healthy lifestyle, “it is good to focus on schools because you have a captive population.”

“From the students to the teachers, to the parents, you can have a unifying concept and when you talk of health you can start with the concept of healthy habits. Developing a healthy lifestyle when the children are still young is the best time,” he said.

Escartin added that schools are good “starting points” for health practices especially since most students tend to listen to what “the teachers say” and then bring the concepts into their homes.

DOH Assistant Secretary Dr. Eric Tayag cautioned that even children could suffer from non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular illnesses, cancer, chronic lung diseases and diabetes.

 â€œWe all trace these to four important risk factors to tobacco use, alcohol use, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity… Atherosclerosis (also) occurs between two and 13 years old,” he said.

According to Tayag, DPS was chosen as a pilot because it has the ingredients of a health-promoting school.

“Many are asking why we chose a private school. That’s because we wanted to see success immediately. Once we see the observable changes, then we will roll this out to other schools,” he added.