Abstract:
Everyone generally admits that nutrition is a key health factor. However, there are many obstacles to translating this recognition into healthy eating habits. Proof of this is the high prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, or obesity, for which diet represents one of the main modifiable risk factors. As proposed by Dr. Emílio Peres, considered by many to be the “father” of nutrition science in Portugal, Healthy Eating is “…a rational way of eating that ensures variety, balance and fair quantity of foods chosen for their nutritional and hygienic quality, subjected to beneficial culinary manipulations” (p. 11). But how to make compatible food tastes and preferences, acquiring good quality foods, cooking skills and satisfying nutritional needs throughout life, without deficiencies or excesses? Can we eat well in a simple way? How can we reach this much desired adjective, “healthy”, to qualify our diet? It is in the family that the foundations for education and eating behavior are built, and it is the school that must act as the driving force behind food literacy. However, the relationship between these contexts and diet is strongly dependent on national governments and the global food industry, as they are the “parts” of the system with the greatest capacity to influence the food environment. These dynamics are marked by great complexity, involving physical, biological, historical, cultural, social, economic, financial and political dimensions. It is therefore up to each individual person and society as a whole to mobilize around the preservation and rehabilitation of food and gastronomic culture, the valorization of education and food literacy, and the construction of good eating habits from an early age. The health, longevity and quality of life of populations depend on these achievements. Based on the crossing of current scientific evidence from various disciplinary fields, this presentation aims to analyze the aspects described above, fostering a reflection guided and structured by the following axes: (1) Healthy eating: the roots; (2) Old and new eating patterns; and (3) Food Literacy: from potential to action.
