Your child is gaining weight? You don’t know how to make sense of nourishing your daughter or son? In a few months’ time, nutritionists will see parents and pregnant women at local clinics for free. This is thanks to the Hungry Changes social movement and the My Patients Foundation. They wrote a petition, collected over 10. signatures and took it to the Ministry of Health. Successfully!
– We turned to the minister because we wanted to draw the attention of the Ministry of Health to the important problem of obesity and bad eating habits of Polish children – says Izabella Dessoulavy-Gładysz Communication Director of the My Patients Foundation. – We are positively surprised that the Minister of Health reacted so quickly to our request, including such a service in the National Health Program for 2016-2020. We hope that access to free advice from a dietitian in health care centers will stop the epidemic of obesity among children in Poland – adds Izabella Dessoulavy-Gładysz. The My Patients Foundation conducted a survey which showed that most paediatricians do not educate parents about the nutrition of their children.
A free visit to a dietitian will be available from January 1, 2017. For this to happen, the My Patients and Hungry Change Parents Foundation was supported by a group of doctors – national consultants, nutritionists and nurses, pointing to the importance of early obesity prevention. The minister agreed to take care of a dietitian for children up to five years of age. This is very important because it is the time when the number of fat cells is being created for a lifetime. And also eating habits that are difficult to eliminate later in life. A sensible, balanced diet also reduces the risk of developing the so-called. civilization diseases in adult life.