Three students of the Licentiate Degree Course in Nursing of the Nursing School of Coimbra created an interactive computer game, intended to help 6 to 10-year-olds to adopt healthy eating habits, which preserve the variety, balance, quantity and quality of the food.
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Developed by the students Ana Lúcia Faria, Carina Andrade and Cátia Cró, with the help of Professor Marina Montezuma, the "Game of the Wheel" has recently won the 4th prize in the contest Hospital of the Future Awards 2007/2008. The game will probably appear on the website of the Platform Against Obesity of the Directorate-General for Health. |
All th schools contacted by the ESEnfC will also be offered a copy of this game.
The "Game of the Wheel" aims at allowing children to identify the seven food groups, to interpret the food Wheel - what to ea more, what to eat less, what to eat moderately and what to avoid -, to know the functions of the different foods and to call attention to health problems related to bad nutrition (obesity, caries).
The game also teaches to prepare simple meals in a family environment.
For the accomplishment of the CD, the 4th-year students of the Licentiate Degree Course in Nursing analysed some bibliography related to the topic, as well as schoolbooks of the primary education (subject "Study of the Surrounding Environment").
In the application of the project to the Hospital of the Future Awards 2007/2008, the authors state «In our opinion it is an innovative way of acquiring and consolidating knowledge on healthy eating and its influence on the health and well-being of people, especially within this age-group».
Besides a learning location, the school also represents a privileged space for sharing experiences and working together on projects, such as the elaboration of the canteen menu, the choice of healthy food, or the compilation of morning or afternoon snacks.
This didactic, interactive and ludic game, which focuses on healthy and balanced eating choices, may as well be used, both individually and/or collectively, in school context.
