The district environmental health unit together with the district health directorate organized a one-day orientation workshop on nutrition for food vendors and school feeding program contractors.
The workshop was officially opened by Hon. John Nyarba, the District Chief Executive. He welcomed all participants into the workshop and entreated them to take the workshop very serious, contribute and also share ideas.
The facilitator Mr. Yaw Marfo the Nutrition Officer from the Health Directorate of the Sene West District Hospital took the participants through balanced diet and its importance. The facilitator defined balanced diet as food containing all the six essential food nutrients in their rights proportions. The facilitator mentioned the six essential food nutrients as carbohydrate, protein, vitamins, minerals, fat and oil and water. He said that diet that contains all the six essential food nutrients in their right proportion is the best food that must be prepared for the school children and the public.
The participants were taken through the importance of balanced diet and some of the importance mentioned by the facilitator were:
- It boosts the immune system
- It promotes growth
- It develops the brain
- It also helps develop bones and teeth
- It also helps develop hairs
The participants were also taken through the adverse effects of consuming imbalanced diet. And some of the effects were mentioned as;
- Kwashiorkor
- Oedema
- Stunted growth
- Goiter
- Death
In conclusion the Mr. Yaw guided the participants to realize the importance of adding more proteins, vitamins and fiber to food.
In attendance were the food vendors, school feeding program contractors, DCE, DCD, district nutrition officer and district environmental health officer.
