Encinitas school district teaches healthy nutrition
ENCINITAS —- Nutrition, exercise and healthy school lunches were discussed Saturday during an Encinitas forum that

focused on how parents, teachers and administrators could work together to help children live healthier lifestyles.

ENCINITAS —- Nutrition, exercise and healthy school lunches were discussed Saturday during an Encinitas forum that focused on how parents, teachers and administrators could work together to help children live healthier lifestyles.

“If we really care about our children’s health, then there are things we can do together,” said Lean King, superintendent of the Encinitas Union School District. “You can’t do it alone.”

He said that educating parents on student health and how it affects academic performance were goals of the first Partners in Wellness Forum, which was suggested by the district’s student wellness policy.

The policy, adopted last June, calls for providing students with regular “moderate to vigorous” exercise, incorporating nutrition education into health curriculum and prohibiting advertisements for non-nutritious foods and beverages in schools.

Abby Saadat, assistant superintendent of business services, oversees the school district’s child nutrition program. She said the district has made numerous changes in its cafeterias, including offering more salad selections, making its own pizzas and no longer selling sugary juices.

In addition, the district will focus on selling things other than chocolate chip cookie dough for its fundraisers, because it sets a bad nutritional example for children.

“The message is out there, but we really weren’t practicing what we were saying,” he said.

King added that the district is focusing on faculty wellness as well by teaming up with LA Fitness to get employees a discount for joining.

“We are trying to carry the banner for fitness by walking the walk,” he explained.

At the forum, parents heard a presentation from Christine Wood, a physician with El Camino Pediatrics Group and author of “How to Get Kids to Eat Great & Love It!” She discussed the latest research in child nutrition.

Wood mentioned research on how healthy eating habits can help children be more academically successful, and ways of maintaining that at home.

“You don’t want to make it a battle zone,” she said of setting healthier guidelines for children. “You just want to set some limits and rules.”

Debbie Castro, who has a 7-year-old daughter in Encinitas schools, said good nutrition can be a challenge for parents, especially if classmates aren’t eating healthy foods.

She said the challenge is trying to provide a healthy meal, while giving her daughter some “fun stuff.”

“It’s working with what I would like her to have, what’s being offered at school, and adding the cool stuff,” she said.

After Wood’s presentation, parents and educators attended breakout sessions that focused on such issues as understanding information on product labels and making exercise fun.

Lorraine Geisterfer, a Carlsbad resident and mother of three, said the experience was invaluable to her, especially since she is pursuing her teaching credentials at MiraCosta College.

She said she learned a lot from Wood’s presentation, including that one in two Latino children will develop diabetes due to unhealthy habits.

Geisterfer, who is planning to teach middle school students English as a second language, said she realizes how important it will be for her to use nutrition as one means of teaching her students English.

She said the event reinforced to her, as a parent and a prospective teacher, the importance of helping children make healthy lifestyle choices.

“I think a lot of us know about it, but you just need a reminder,” she said.