New Perspectives in Science Education

Food represents energy source for all living organisms because it has all macro- and micro-nutrients necessary for cells surviving. Do we know anything about food? How much is it? Do we know healthy and no-healthy food? What are macro and micro nutrients? We can answer to all these questions with different experiments by which it will be possible to know energetic and nutritional values on what we eat. The best diet is obtained when there is a proper composition of nutrients according to different age of life. Indeed when macro and micronutrients intake is unsufficient there will be negative effects on healthy. So we created a didactic laboratory divided in 5 sections that corresponds to a different age of life. Each sections is represented by a panel in which are described typical and necessary food for a particular phase of life. The laboratory will start with a video on eating habits of Milan city. Then it will be possible to directly measure body mass index (BMI) and to compare it with reference tables.

It’s very important what we eat when we are babies, teenagers, adults or  elderly. For example correct feeding is essential for the development of pregnancy and the growth of fetus. So it is important to ingest correct caloric intake, monitoring BMI before and during pregnancy. What is the most and the worst recommended food during pregnancy? We will chemically analyze suitable foods during the laboratory.

In the first year of life the weight increases three fold while the height raises of 50%. The breast covers all necessities of the baby and it is well tolerated. So let’s see what nutrients are in breast milk in our lab.

The aim of eating education consists on a correct and healthy style of life, enjoying the pleasure of good food. Then we learn what is good to eat by simple experiments.

The adolescence represents a delicate phase of life during which boys and girls follow stereotypes developing serious eating disorder as anorexia nervosa or bulimia. Furthermore child are attracted by no-healthy  foods of fast foods that will influence eating habits in adulthood. We will try to analyze and compare eating habits of participating teenager.

In adulthood we have to follow a series of eating roles in order to prevent the development of different pathologies as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and osteoarthritic diseases . Indeed adults don’t have to eat always the same foods, often  ingest fruit and vegetables,  take care of their weight and BMI, do sport activities, eat few fats and salt. Let’s see how many adults follows a correct lifestyle and let’s try to analyze when supplements would be used.

When we become elderly we have less hunger. Furthermore the lack of sport activity reduces muscular mass. A 75 years old man needs less than 25% of energies than a 25 boy. If we don’t give to our body adequate quantity of vitamins, fibers and mineral we become weak and it is more probable to take some diseases. Let’s  see some advices for daily life.