Mrs. Chioma Ezegwe, a dietitian in Nasarawa State, emphasizes that ensuring a child’s well-being through a balanced diet is crucial for academic success and overall health.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, Mrs. Ezegwe stressed the importance of providing children with nutritious meals to support their mental development. She highlighted that a balanced diet not only fosters good health and proper growth but also fortifies the child against illnesses.
The dietician said, “Adequate balanced diet will enhance good health and help the child to grow well, and keep away sickness.
“It will also enable the child to have the vitality to be productive and excel in academic pursuits.
“Making a healthy choice of diet as parents via the advice of diet experts is important. As parents, you should encourage healthy eating and active lifestyle among children by giving them a variety of healthy food.”
According to her, it has been observed that taking a healthy diet with the advice of dieticians helps to stimulate a child’s alertness during class.
“I know we are experiencing hard times recently, parents should strive to provide appropriate diets and snacks because children can improve their academic performance by altering their eating habits to include healthy snacks in their daily routines.
“Eating a healthy diet and being physically active can balance children’s energy levels for optimal attentiveness, increase focus and improve their overall academic performance,’’ she added.
Ezegwe advised parents to give their children food that contains lots of vegetables and fruits.
Similarly, a parent, Mrs Nkem Olarnwaju, said healthy foods would fight diseases and make a child grow properly.
She noted that due to the hardship in the country, many parents now find it very difficult to provide the necessary meals.
She, however, urged them to try their possible to give their children the right meal, saying doing otherwise could be dangerous.
According to her, giving children nutritious food and getting them to engage in little exercises would make them strong, healthy and productive.