Children should be introduced to a healthy lifestyle at an early stage. Exercises should be made fun and parents should share interesting nutritional facts with kids, wellness experts tell Shrabasti Mallik
At a first glance it looked no less than a PT session — an instructor in the front with 40 students following every move she made. They positioned themselves into dhanushashan, bajrashan and cobra poses with the instructor guiding them where to place the hands, the proper way of breathing and also the right way of doing yoga. While many of them followed with ease, some had difficulty. “The dhanushashan was difficult because it is hard to make that arch but the cobra pose was fun,” said Suraj Kumar, seventh standard student of Deepalaya School. The session was part of an initiative by Oriflame to make students aware of the need to stay healthy on the occasion of World Health Day.
According to Malin Petersson, wellness manager, Oriflame, it is a misconception that one needs to start taking care of one’s health at a certain age. “There is no age to start being conscious about your health. It is important to exercise and the younger you start the better.” She conducted an aerobics session in the school auditorium teaching kids to stretch and move to the rhythms of a song. Dance is a great way to exercise, she said. “It is not that you have to follow any set of steps or routine. It is more important that you move and stretch every day,” she added.
The girls doing aerobics seemed to enjoy themselves as Petersson guided them. Jyoti Verma, an eighth standard student, said, “This is better than the normal exercises that we do. I have heard of aerobics but this is the first time I am trying it.”
Students from the school netball team, however, displayed their fitness by competing against each other. They were agile and swift in making it to the basket. The captain of the netball team, Siddharth Sharma, follows a strict exercise routine and a healthy diet and prefers to “stay away from junk food.”
A different batch of students from standard eight to twelve were later made aware about the various ways by which they can keep diseases at bay. The session, conducted by nutritionist Sonia Narang, had the students listening in rapt attention. Along with examples she explained the importance of washing hands before a meal and during the day. “That will not only keep germs away but will also ensure proper hygiene,” she said before moving on to the topic of proper nutrition in teenagers. She elaborated on the four food groups that are essential in the daily diet — protein, calcium, iron and vitamin B12. She also stressed on the importance of having water throughout the day. “It is important to have fluids. You can have lassi, shikanji, nimbu paani and cold tea if you want but it is also important to drink at least eight to ten glasses of water,” she said and added that it is important to have one glass of warm water before brushing in the morning. She explained, “When you do that the saliva in your mouth washes down and that helps in digestion.” Romita Sen, a ninth standard student asked her about the possible varieties for nutritious lunch. “We got to know many interesting facts about food. I did not know that lemon that is squeezed into poha helps in absorbing the iron and helps in digestion,” she said.