AT THE MEDITERRANEAN TABLE: ONE DIET, MANY COLTURES. A PROJECT FOR THE SCHOOLS

Scardella P., Morrone A., Piombo L., Spada R., Del Balzo V.

VI Barcellona International Congress on the Mediterranean Diet
Barcelona, 8-9 March 2006

Some people, more than others, enjoy natural “dietary good fortune”: those from the countries of Mediterranean area.
Mediterranean food model is recognised by nutritionists of the whole world as the most suitable for maintaining good health state and for obesity and chronic-degenerative diseases prevention.
Food education is a determinant factor in the prevention of the above mentioned pathologies and the educational intervention must begin quite early as since childhood food behaviours are determined and the bases for the future health state are established.
It is not possible to propose Mediterranean diet as a sole dietary regimen without taking into account the history, the geography and the religion of the various countries.
Purpose of the present work - implemented by University La Sapienza (Rome) and Istituto San Gallicano (Rome) and addressed to the pupils of the nursery and primary school of Rome - is to promote Mediterranean diet, to inform about its nutritional indications, and to supply a contribution to the knowledge of the dietary culture and habits of the Mediterranean countries.
The project is articulated in a didactic-educational booklet on Mediterranean diet and a teaching game, “The Food Interactive Pyramid”, devised to be coloured, made and filled in by the children. The project also foresees seminars for the teachers.
To open “the mind” to new knowledge and “the palate” to new flavours may contribute to remove mistrust and fears deriving from apparent diversity.