17/24 - Strategie innovative per l’educazione alimentare l’esperienza pilota del programma MaestraNatura. A cura di Antonio d’Amore e Roberta Masella 2017, v, 78 p.

Innovative strategies for nutrition education: the pilot experience of the MaestraNatura program.
Edited by Antonio d’Amore and Roberta Masella
2017, v, 78 p. (in Italian)

TSince 2012, the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (the National Institute of Health in Italy) has been participating in the implementation of an experimental nutrition education project, collaborating to MaestraNatura program which has the aim of teaching science using food. The teaching method is based on experiential learning: basic concepts of chemistry, physics, biology, biochemistry and physiology are acquired and consolidated through practical activities carried out both at school and at home. The distinctiveness of this approach lies in the choice of the educational path direction: it does not start from the knowledge of the food guide pyramid to drive the behavior towards healthy eating, but, on the contrary, it uses the knowledge acquired through experience in the course of an eight years long “critical period”, namely the years of elementary and secondary schools, in order to understand the food choices suggested by the food pyramid and the national guidelines for healthy eating. Moreover, the method sets the discourse on health in general, making sure 1) to avoid emphasis on concepts like “healthy body weight” or “good/bad” foods, and 2) to promote the whole person without neglecting psychological and emotional aspects of the children. Consequently, MaestraNatura takes in account many of the relevant aspects that should be considered and reconciled in integrated intervention programs aimed at the prevention of obesity and eating disorders.
Key words: Prevention; Nutrition education; Obesity; Eating disorders