The Future of Education

Incentivizing healthy eating habits among children has become crucial, as childhood obesity rates are alarmingly high in Italy and other developed countries. This issue stems from the excessive consumption of fats and sugary foods, while the intake of plant-based foods like vegetables and legumes (V&L) continues to decline [1,2]. To make V&L more appealing and raise awareness about balanced diets, educational tools have been implemented as "nudges" with children from primary schools. Nudges are subtle changes in the environment that encourage specific behaviours without enforcing them, activating quick, intuitive responses that guide choices [3].

Two projects, Fun-Vege-Tables and LO-VEg, have designed and tested various tools focused on V&L, such as comics, music, games and experimental kits, in primary schools and in open-access events [4, 5]. V&L were chosen as main focus because their adequate intake is essential for a balanced diet and for reducing the childhood obesity risk. The aim in the use of this unconventional nudging approach is to activate an emotional involvement of children and encourage healthier choices in diet.

Thus, by integrating key information on healthy eating, a comic story with two children with a different inclination towards the V&L consumption as main players was created, as well as a song with a cartoon video, simple to be learned by children, was developed for underling the beneficial effects of V&L. Moreover, a game focused on the dietary pyramid and some hands-on experiments to evaluate Ii.e. the presence of bioactive molecules in V&L such as proteins and enzymes, were set up and make them available to schools. 

In conclusion, data shows that nudging-based strategies can be an effective method for shaping healthier eating behaviors among children, potentially outperforming traditional awareness campaigns in schools and social contexts. By making healthy eating fun and engaging, these initiatives can help combat childhood obesity and promote lifelong healthy habits.