- Aims at preventing child obesity by promoting healthy eating habits and physical activities among children -

Nam-gu Health Center has launched a healthy childcare playground for first and second graders who participate in primary school childcare programs in Ok-dong Elementary School and Namsan Elementary School to prevent child obesity.

The healthy childcare playground is a program designed to promote healthy development and child obesity prevention among children through play-based physical activity and nutrition program. It is a newly-developed, standardized program offered at schools, the health center and at homes with professional instructors.

The nutrition program helps children develop healthy eating habits centering around the six topics including balanced eating to teach them the importance of eating habits using seasonal fruits and foods and to help them become familiar with healthy foods. In particular, it is designed to increase children’s preference for healthy foods including vegetables, fruits, milk and dairy products.

The play-based physical activity program aims at promoting physical activity and generating energy among children through various games involving physical activity including a relay, hopscotch and hide-and-seek.

A change in obesity level, nutritional knowledge, eating habits and physical activity level of participating children before and after program are assessed every year, and it is found to be effective in preventing child obesity with BMI improved among 71% of children participating in a healthy childcare playground last year.

An official of Nam-gu Health Center said, “We will continue our efforts to promote children's voluntary engagement in healthy life practices while encouraging physical activities of children who have been exhausted from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.”