Health and Well-being

 

Welcome to the Health and Well-being Eco-topic. Below the facts there is information on:

• Why Health and Well-being is an Eco-topic
• The Health of Young Scottish People
• Scotland's Health Promoting Schools
• Health and Well-being topics
• What Can You Do

 

 

Why ‘Health and Well-being’ is an Eco-topic 

 

Health and Well-being is important to everyone who is alive and it is important to an Eco School. An Eco School should take care of the people in it, not just the environment around it! Learning how to take care of yourself and those around you will help you to take care of your school and the world around you.

 

‘Well-being’ means having a combination of emotional, social and physical health. That includes having a range of practices in your life such as a healthy diet and regular exercise. It also includes bullying, which can make people feel unhappy. Health and well-being can be helped by having a clean and safe playground to relax and play in. It can also be helped by a positive classroom atmosphere and effective communication in the school between pupils and teachers.

 

Choosing to work on this Eco-topic involves working with your teachers and the Eco-Committee and everyone in the school to for example improve healthy eating and fitness. It will encourage a caring and respectful attitude in the school, to create a more pleasant school environment for you to learn in. To find out more about Heath and Well-being go to the Eco Schools Scotland Handbook.                   

 

The Health of Young Scottish People

 

At school there is a real opportunity to learn about and practice health and well-being. There are many aspects to health and well-being. The information below is given to show you some of these aspects and help you to make healthy choices.

 

A study of the health of young people in several countries, was carried out by the University of Edinburgh and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2004. Lets have a look at how Scottish young people are behaving in comparison with the other countries in 2004.

 

Physical Activity  

 

This graph is about physical activity. Physical activity simply means movement of the body that uses energy. For health benefits, physical activity should be moderate or vigorous to increase your heart rate and add up to at least 30 minutes a day. 

 

The graph shows how many boys and girls are exercising regularly. In all countries, boys exercised more regularly than girls. In Scotland, 38% of boys met the exercise guidelines at age 15 but only 23% of girls did. That means that the majority of young people aren’t getting enough exercise but boys do better than girls. Come on girls, get on with it!

 

( from: http://www.education.ed.ac.uk/cahru/publications/BriefingPaper7.pdf)

 

Watching TV

 

This graph is about watching TV. In Scotland, in 2004, 1 in 3 young people said they watched television for four or more hours each weekday. Studies into the negative effects of watching television showed an increased risk of becoming short-sighted, an increase in sleep disorders, body fat production and risk of cardiovascular disease. All the more reason to be active and healthy at school! Take some time to think about this.

 

 

( from: http://www.education.ed.ac.uk/cahru/publications/BriefingPaper7.pdf)

 

 

Eating Fruit

  

This graph is about the number of boys and girls that eat enough fruit every day. Girls generally eat more fruit than boys. The young people in Scotland ate more fruit than those in England but much less than 17 other countries that were in the survey. Fruit contains natural sugars, which stimulate the brain so that we can think faster and recall information. That’s food for thought.

 

 

( from: http://www.education.ed.ac.uk/cahru/publications/BriefingPaper7.pdf)

Drinking Sugary Drinks

 

The graph below shows the number of boys and girls that drink sugary drinks. Scotland ranked second out of all the countries, 54% of boys and of 45% of girls aged 15, drank one or more sugary soft drink each day. These drinks have lots of sugar and artificial additives in them. According to some studies, sugary drinks are linked with obesity and the rise in diabetes. Why not avoid this threat and convert to water or fresh fruit juice? Your taste buds may take a little while to adjust but your teeth will love you for it.

 

( from: http://www.education.ed.ac.uk/cahru/publications/BriefingPaper7.pdf)

 

Perceptions of Body Image

 

The graph below is about feeling a bit too fat or much too fat. In Scotland, 21% of boys and 52% of girls at age 15 perceived themselves to be too fat. Feeling good about yourself is really important and essential to your well-being. If you are unhappy about your body image, find someone to talk to about it. 

 

( from: http://www.education.ed.ac.uk/cahru/publications/BriefingPaper7.pdf)

 

Brushing Teeth

  

The graph below is about Teeth. In Scotland, 61% of boys and 79% of girls aged 15 reported brushing their teeth more than once a day. That’s good but there are still people who are not taking care of their teeth. If teeth are not taken care of they rot and fall out. Research shows that brushing and flossing can help the flow of blood through the arteries, which is good for your heart and blood vessels too. Keep up the good work and lets aim for everyone brushing their teeth.

 

 

 

( from: http://www.education.ed.ac.uk/cahru/publications/BriefingPaper7.pdf)

 

Scotland’s Health Promoting Schools 

 

All schools in Scotland have been set a healthy mission. The mission is to become Health Promoting Schools by December 2007. Your school in Dumfries and Galloway is part of this.

 

What is a health promoting school? 

 

A health promoting school is one where the ethos of care, respect, participation, responsibility and fairness for all is at the heart of the school.

 

 

The following list gives you ideas about how a health promoting school should affect you.

 

This list gives you ideas of how you can affect your health promoting school.

(From: http://www.healthpromotingschools.co.uk/children/factfiles/healthpromotingschool.asp)

 

Health and Well-being Topics

 

There are a number of topics you can investigate in the Health and Well-being Eco-topic. Health eating, fitness and emotional well-being are good examples.

 

 

Healthy Eating

 

Healthy eating is an important part of health and well-being. What we eat directly effects our health. The key to good eating is a balanced diet. If you ate only chocolate for three weeks, you would be very ill. Even if you ate only tomatoes for three weeks you would be ill. A mixture of different kinds of food works well. A healthy diet gives you all the nutrients you need for activity, growth, maintenance and repair of the body’s organs and tissues.

 

A balanced diet includes items from all the main food groups.

 

• Carbohydrates - this includes bread, potatoes, pasta, rice and cereals.

   

• Fruit and vegetables - everyone should aim to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. Choosing fruit as snacks or adding raisins to your breakfast cereal all count to your total.

   

• Protein - meat, fish, chicken and eggs are all sources of protein. Vegetarian alternatives like beans, nuts and grains also have protein.

   

• Milk and dairy foods - cheese, yogurt, milk and fromage frais are good sources of calcium. These foods should be eaten in moderate amounts.

   

• Fats and sugars - these should be eaten sparingly and lower fat versions should be chosen if possible. Fatty and sugary foods include pastries, fried food, sweets, crisps, biscuits and cakes. 

The healthy Living Food Plate

Fruit and Vegetables 30%

 

Carbohydrates 30%

 

Milk and Dairy Foods 20%

 

Fats and Sugars 10%

 

Proteins 10%

 

 

 

 

 

 

(From: http://www.healthyliving.gov.uk/healthyeating/index.cfm?contentid=1465)

 

 

Healthy eating is not just about the food that we eat. You can also explore where food comes from and the impact of food on the environment. Why not investigate:

• Farming practice
• Food air miles
•  Organic food products  

 

Exercise and Fitness 

 

Our bodies and our minds need regular exercise to keep healthy. Young people in Scotland these days get less exercise from everyday activities than those in the past. With the increasing use of cars taking pupils to and from school many are loosing that vital daily activity. The popularity of computer games and television is also keeping people indoors instead of being active outside. Exercise is all the more important in school for these reasons.

 

There are different types of exercise. Different activities strengthen your muscles, increase the body’s coordination or flexibility, work on breathing or increase stamina. Some exercise can be gained from playing team games like football or hockey. Individual exercise like jogging is also beneficial. It is important to exercise your mind too. Playing a range of games like scrabble or chess are good for this.

 

Exercise not only keeps you fit, it also helps you to feel happy. Physical activity helps to release stress, improves sleep and makes you less likely to suffer from some health problems later in life. Exercise helps you to think through problems and adapt to new situations. Keeping fit is a good habit to get into while you are young.

 

 

Emotional and Mental Well-being 

 

Bullying and stress at school are not acceptable but many pupils suffer bullying at some time at school. It’s essential to get out a clear message that bullying is bad for everyone. It is important to get this message out by perhaps talking about it in class and making posters to display around school.

 

It is important to have somewhere or sometime in school to be quiet. Is there a relaxing space or time for you in school or in the school grounds? If you would like more of this, you could discuss this with the Eco-committee.

 

What Can You Do? 

 

The Health and Well-being Eco-topic covers a range of topics in your school. Here are just some ideas of things you could focus on as a school:

 

• You could tackle the tuck shop. Does your tuck shop sell sugary sweets and salty crisps? You could ask for fruit, nuts and other tasty and healthy nibbles. You could even set up a healthy tuck shop in your school selling a range of fruit products including: fresh fruit, dried fruit and 100% fruit or vegetable juice.

 

• Focus on exercise. Is there an activity that you would like to try or do you want practice more often? You could discuss this with a teacher.  

 

• Have an anti-bullying campaign in school. You could create powerful posters to get the message out and encourage anyone who is upset at school to find someone to talk to.