Saša Kovačević

In today's world, there are so many trends that come and go. Everyday we are getting new information about what is good for us, and what isn't. It can be a daunting task to just try and keep up. When considering healthy choices, it can be an even more daunting task to ensure that adolescents and students are making them, especially with all the information that is out there. Perhaps direct delivery of what is bad, and what is good, isn't the best option that exists. Listed below are strategies that I believe could be effective in encouraging our teens to make healthy choices. 

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Understanding Instead of Fear 

In our Interactive Lecture we discussed how there can be a stigma of fear that exists around drugs and alcohol. They are bad, so they will be banned, and you are not to use them - to put it lightly. Interestingly, this same stigma has been placed around junk foods in some schools with the removal of vending machines. Although some might feel these are effective methods to reduce use of the things, they don't answer the questions of "why?" Why is junk food bad for you, what are the effects or implications? 

The first method I would like to try would remove the fear around poor dietary choices, and replace it with education and understanding. And moreover, understanding what we can do, and what we might not be able to do as teens. In example, the Dietitians of Canada offer an online resource to 5 Steps to Healthy Eating for Youth 12-18.  After discussing the benefits of healthy eating, and the implications that may come along with poor nutritional choices, I would go through the 5 steps and engage in a group discussion on the benefits and limitations of the five steps. Some thoughts that could stem from this would include ideas such as while eating your meals with family is a great suggestion, this is not a reality for all youth. After these concerns, we could discuss possible solutions to overcome these objections, like eating meals with a friends family. I feel that generating a discussion, and showing the flaws in some "ideal" suggestions, will allow students to humanize the suggestions and interpret them rather than being forced to accept them as truth. 

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