The UK education system is failing to provide adequate nutritional education for teenagers which has led to a concerning increase in unhealthy and unsustainable eating habits. Education needs to start addressing not only the importance of eating ‘healthy’ but also what a healthy diet consists of and how it can be achieved. Healthy eating needs to start being seen as a preventative method for long-term health issues.

Schools play an instrumental role in ensuring children have the skills and knowledge to lead healthier lives.

According to the Gov UK 2021 summary on childhood obesity, “one in three children” in the UK are living with obesity. The Institute for Public Policy Research predicts that this could “cost the NHS £74 billion and wider society £405 billion” due to “lost productivity and reduced workforce participation”.

Our aim is to focus on the importance of nutritional education in preventing personal and environmental health issues by redesigning systemic education. This petition urges the government, and eventually schools, to reconsider their teaching methods, altering the syllabus to incorporate teaching teenagers how to lead a sustainable and healthy diet which reduces economic and health implications later down the line.

Click here to access our website and read more about our proposal.

To find more information about global-scale, successful projects which have targeted the strong links between diet and health in institutions visit our Instagram page (@educationrefresh_gc).