Table 2 Activities to develop in the educational program

1

Food pyramid class. The food pyramid will be explained with an acrylic pyramid and life-size food replicas. The importance of a healthy and balanced diet will also be emphasized. This concept will be illustrated with replicas of an artery for visualization of the effects of a diet rich in fats, sodium and sugar in the blood vessels. Other subjects discussed in this meeting will include the dimension of portions, plates, glasses, cups and other kitchen utensils, in order to teach about the proper amounts for the age group. Children and their guardians will have the opportunity to discuss questions and express their expectations for the educational program.

2

Discussion on the quantity of sugar, sodium and fat in foods. The workshop aims to clarify, using food kits, the quantities of these nutrients in foods most frequently consumed by the group. Children and families will also be taught how to read food labels correctly, to be able to take healthy decisions on daily basis.

Educational materials will be used with drawings showing comparative food information, to illustrate how to make the best choice. The parents will receive two food guides, “In Search of a Happy Heart” and “Sodium”. In this same workshop, the children will build an educational whiteboard, with the objective of assisting in organizing the family routine. Parents and children will establish rules and routines. Regarding food, tidiness and order, for a healthy coexistence within the family. This whiteboard will be used at home to record their children’s daily behavior and teach them to self-assess their health habits.

Directions for use:

• choose the location where the whiteboard will be placed;

• in the first column, set the activities;

• the child will be evaluated daily on the activities performed, and earn a happy face at each accomplished task.

• at the end of each month, the child will win or not a prize established by parents, depending on the nutritional pattterns during the month;

• the prize will be awarded if the child wins at least 18 happy faces during this period.

Suggestions:

• it will be suggested to parents that the award is not focused on material objects, but in family activities such as going to parks or zoos, cycling or flying a kite, strengthening the family bond;

• the whiteboard is intended to help the child to develop the idea that good habits result in good moments, not in gifts.

3

Healthy nutrition class in the kitchen. On this workshop, adults will work in the kitchen, along with the nutritionist, to prepare healthy snacks with vegetables and fruits, and learn to make substitutions in order to reduce the amount of salt, fat and sugar used at home.

The children will receive a paper food pyramid to draw and paste the food in the right places. This workshop will also include a tale hour with the book Correct Food., with an explanation about foods that are good or bad for the health. Finally, the workshop will be closed with the tasting of healthy snacks prepared by the parents.

4

Meeting with parents. In this meeting, the psychologist will conduct a team-building activity with discussions and analyses on what and how to do to change erroneous habits and attitudes in the family routine.

In this meeting, the children will participate in a culinary workshop with the nutritionist and learn the proper technique of hand hygiene with the aid of a red washable ink. They will then prepare a “healthy orange soft drink”, with orange and papaya juice, as well as a whole grain cocoa cake. The children will also be taught about grilling, roasting and other food cooking techniques, aiming to help them have good eating habits. Finally, the children will receive a book of healthy recipes.

5

Physical activity. In this workshop, the physical educator will conduct games such as jump rope, elastic game, hopscotch, hula-hoop and video games (XBOX), so that the children and their parents exercise. The workshop aims at teaching easy exercises that do not demand much space and can be done at home. In this meeting, the children will receive lettuce seedlings to plant and create small gardens in their homes, as a means to stimulate the consumption vegetables.

6

Meeting with parents. The therapist will conduct a discussion about important points, such as how to establish limits and to deal with bullying and low self-esteem issues.

The children will be distributed in teams for playing games about healthy eating, aiming to teach about food through the senses of touch, smell, taste and vision.

Vision: fresh, whole or cut food will be shown;

the children will be asked if they know each food presented and if they like it.

Tact: the children will be blindfolded and the nutritionist will choose one food for each child,

prompting her to handle and identify it.

Smell: the child, still blindfolded, will be asked to smell and identify the food.

Palate: the blindfolded child will receive a portion of the food and will be prompted to try and identify it.

This meeting will also include other healthy eating games.

7

Meeting with parents and children. In this meeting, scenes of the movie Muito Além do Peso will be discussed.

8

Meeting with parents: Healthy nutrition in the kitchen: in this workshop, the guardians will join the nutritionist in the kitchen to prepare healthy dishes. The objective is to emphasize how to replace sodium, fats and sugars in food preparation.

The children will play with the human board game, that encourages healthy habits and in which they themselves are the parts.

9

Meeting for questions and conversation. For parents and children who wish to participate, a video will be recorded on what they have learned during the meetings.

In this last meeting, anthropometric and biochemical assessments, as well as blood pressure measurements, will be repeated in children and their guardians. All participant children will receive a certificate and a fridge magnet about “the ten healthy habits”.