By Ekta Arora
“Eating smart makes us smarter”
The young generation plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of the nation. The markers of progress of a nation are dependent on the intellectual and physical development levels of its youth.
Hence, it is very essential to provide proper and balanced nutrition to the school students that is vital for their academic success and a better future. Food is an important and basic need of our lives. It becomes even more important when we talk about nutrition in school going Children. Many studies have provided evidence that nutrition influences students’ learning potential and their school performance.
A child with inadequate nutrition will have a lower attention span. An imbalanced diet is a serious problem that affects the child’s ability to learn. The best schools in Gurgaon have the provision for the breakfast/lunch programmes designed to improve the cognitive development and skills in students.
It is not only about providing nutrition but the right and balanced nutrition. Let’s have a look how lack of nutrition or poor nutrition impacts the skills among students:
- Iron Deficiency: It decreases the dopamine transmission resulting in negatively impacting the cognition.
- Vitamin and Mineral Deficiency: It inhibits cognitive ability.
- Amino Acids and Carbohydrates Deficiency: It leads to lack of perception, intuition and reasoning skills.
- Omega-3 fatty acids deficiency: Leading to decreased cognitive function and psychological well-being.
Inadequate nutrition leads to delayed intellectual development, delayed physical growth and delayed development of motor skills. It also leads to frequent illness and lethargy that subsequently reduces a child’s interest in the class activities and in sports.
Nutrition and diet are closely associated with preventing cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
The role of a school is to provide the students with complete nutrition and a balanced diet that includes a variety of fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, proteins and vegetables that are essential for optimal brain function. These foods provide the necessary vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that prevents the above-mentioned deficiencies and help promote heathy brain activity by significantly increasing the cognitive function and also increase the active participation in the different sporting endeavours.
Moreover, the need here is to understand that consumption of diet that is high in sugar, unhealthy fats and processed foods may cause a short-term energy burst but eventually cause a negative impact on the cognitive function of brain and leads to the hinderance in concentration and memory retention.
To conclude, incorporating the balanced diet in a child’s daily routine and prioritizing regular meals is essential to lead a healthier life style and to excel academically.
Many schools in Gurgaon are finding ways to address this concern. Some of the Top Schools in Gurgaon place paramount significance on the well-being of students. Vega Schools’, too, prioritize student health by diligently addressing their nutritional needs and ensuring the provision of wholesome elements that profoundly enhance their abilities and achievements.