Part 1…..The alarming reality of what the term health and healthy mean to our kids

We know from Australian research, that unfortunately children do not have a holistic view of health. The evidence shows us that children have a narrow notion of the term health and tend to describe being healthy as being “fit, active and sporty.”  

An Australian study undertaken in 2019 with primary school aged children, asked them to describe what healthy meant to them. Their answers revealed a sole focus on eating healthy food (which they defined as fruit and vegetables) and being physically active (that is, playing sports or exercising).

 Earlier Australian research had shown that primary aged students believed that “good health” was achieved through healthy eating and exercise. Once again, these children neglected to account for other health promoting behaviours, which contribute to overall wellbeing, such as sleep and social connectedness.

We also know that children feel that being healthy and having good health is a personal responsibility- children are not talking about environmental or policy changes that can create a supportive or conducive environment. This sense of personal responsibility brings with it anxiety and pressure to achieve a certain size and shape.

We know from the evidence that children also over-emphasise the link between body size and health. A South Australian study showed that children defined a healthy body as one that is “thin and fit.” The children in this study also described the need to avoid “fatness” as they believed that being fat would lead to sickness and death. This kind of evidence is alarming and certainly not what we want to be seeing and hearing from our children.