Conducts various activities at Government Schools and Colleges

Mysore/Mysuru: CSIR-CFTRI celebrated National Nutrition Week 2023 with theme  “Healthy Diet Going Affordable For All” by way of organising various activities for Government  Schools and Colleges in Mysuru to create awareness about the importance of nutrition and its role in leading a healthy and disease-free life.

The week-long event from Sept.1 to 7  was an initiative by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India  to educate people about the significance of balanced diets, adequate nutrition and impact of right food choices on improving overall physical and mental health.

National Nutrition Week accelerates its action towards promoting the nutritional status of women and children. The Government is keenly focussing attention on the primary life stages in women — pregnancy, infancy, childhood and adolescence, thus going with the theme “Suposhit Bharat, Sakshar Bharat, Sashakt Bharat”.

The event began on Sept. 1  with a lecture on importance of micro-nutrients in growth and development for school children of Government High School, Hootagalli, followed by a quiz competition.

A talk on general nutrition and benefits of millets was organised on Sept. 4 for students of Government Junior College, Vontikoppal and a ‘pick and speak’ competition on various concepts of nutrition was conducted.

A debate competition was organised on ‘Benefits of traditional Vs Modern foods’ for High School children in CFTRI School and importance of good nutritional practices was emphasised.

Essay writing competition was conducted for CFTRI students and employees on lifecycle nutrition. The week concluded with the valedictory address by Dr. Praveen Kulkarni, Professor in Community Medicine and  Vice-Principal, JSS Medical College, Mysuru. He touched upon the current nutrition scenario, dietary practices and corrective measures from medical perspective. He also elaborated the actions  needed  to make  healthy diets more available and accessible for all Indians and sustainable diet recommendations.

The session was presided by Director-Nominee, Dr. Vijayanand, Chief Scientist and Head, Fruit & Vegetable Technology, CSIR-CFTRI.

He emphasised on the dietary approaches as solutions for correcting malnutrition and mentioned about the malnutrition alleviation programmes undertaken by CFTRI.

Winners of various competitions were awarded certificates and mementos. The awareness programme covered more than 300 students and was well-received by both the children and teachers.