Diet and food are a fundamental part of culture and traditions. Food can have a social and ceremonial role, such as religious feasts (think Christmas dinner or Ramadan evening meals). Furthermore, our earliest childhood experiences can be food-related (watermelons in the summer, hot chocolate in winter). Therefore, nutritional interventions from an early part of a child's life are recommended.
However, to make effective interventions, health educators, especially those concerned with obesity, diabetes, mental health and social prescribing, need cultural competency to better advise and support our communities and to overcome health inequalities. Current health advice can fail because it lacks relevance to the lives of the people we are trying to support. Those who prepare and serve food also need awareness, such as school caterers.
We believe in celebrating the differences in cultural diets and we believe that offering advice or choices that are culturally relevant is beneficial in two significant ways. Not only are we showing respect and understanding of the people within our community and making them feel included, but offering culturally relevant advice or choices can lead to behaviour changes that improve health outcomes.
Nutrition Ed. has been working with community groups for the past 20+ years and we offer health advice and resources that are relevant to the day-to-day lives of the communities we serve, such as the South Asian, Caribbean, African, Eastern European and Arabic-speaking communities.
Nutrition Ed. has trained dietitians, nutritionists, school staff, nursery staff and catering staff. We also design and evaluate nutritional resources for ethnic groups. Dietary habits of minority ethnic groups are affected by a wide variety of factors and acquiring a better understanding of these can help health professionals, educationalists and food providers to recognise the needs of these groups and create positive changes more effectively.
We also offer support to children's education and food services to help them become culturally competent in delivering food that creates both good health and the social benefit of creating an inclusive environment for children from ethnic communities. Children are often embarrassed to eat homemade food in public spaces, like school, and therefore choose unhealthy foods. Offering a diverse range of foods reflecting the local community can create a feeling of acceptance by society and support children in making healthier choices.
We at Nutrition Ed. are passionate about creating better health outcomes for children and have created numerous resources for professionals, children and parents to overcome health barriers and reduce health inequality. If you would like to know more, please get in touch.
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