Children’s Television Programs about Healthy Foods

When you think about children’s television programs what do you think of? Superheroes? An evil criminal or villain? Danger? Excitement and adventure? One recent television program for children has all of these things - but it also has something else. It tries to teach children about good nutrition, or eating healthy foods. The creators of this program hope that this television program can be a successful global business. But they also hope it will improve lives around the world. Today’s Spotlight is on this television program, Nutri Ventures. The World Health Organization, the WHO, has said that childhood obesity is a dangerous and growing problem. Children weigh more than ever before. In 2013, 42 million children were overweight. Thirty-one million of these children live in developing countries. The WHO says that by 2025, 70 million children could be overweight. Childhood obesity can cause problems for children. But it can also cause problems when the child grows to an adult. Overweight children usually grow into overweight adults. Being overweight can cause dangerous health problems like diabetes and heart disease. But people can prevent childhood obesity before it even starts. Children must know about healthy food. And they must eat healthy food too. The WHO says: “Choosing foods for babies and young children is extremely important. That is because the taste for food is established early in life. Feeding babies high-fat, high-sugar, and high-salt foods encourages childhood obesity.” The WHO also believes that food marketing is important. Companies use advertisements to encourage people to buy their products. And some companies sell unhealthy food. But companies can also use marketing to teach people about healthy food and healthy eating. This is what Rui Lima Miranda and Rodrigo Carvalho are trying to do. Miranda and Carvalho are business people from Portugal. They created the television program Nutri Ventures in 2010. They told examiner.com that they had two goals for their new business. They wanted the business to be global. But they also wanted it to help change people’s lives. Miranda and Carvalho described to the examiner how they got the idea to start Nutri Ventures. “The idea for Nutri Ventures came from a large food store. We were working for the store at that time. And the store was searching for a fresh new way to sell healthy food to children. We learned all about this huge issue of child obesity that we had not known about. Rodrigo invented this wonderful story about Nutri Ventures. The story is the most important thing in any business!” The story for Nutri Ventures is full of adventure, danger and education! It is made for children ages 4-10 years old. Nutri Ventures is the story of a young boy named Theo. Theo and his friends live in a city where there is no food. Instead, people eat the chemical GENEX 100 once a day. Alex Grand invented GENEX 100. He is very greedy and has destroyed all the food. Without food, people must pay Alex Grand to eat GENEX 100. People do not even know that they are missing real food. In his adventures, Theo meets with seven defenders or guardians. These guardians have protected food from Alex Grand. They each protect the foods in their kingdoms of nutrition. Each kingdom protects a different kind of food. For example, the white guardian protects the white kingdom. There, Theo and his friends find dairy foods. Dairy foods are made from milk. Theo discovers that dairy can help people have strong bones. Theo and his friends want to bring food back to the people in their city. They travel to each kingdom to collect the foods. Through their adventures, they battle Alex Grand. They use the special powers they get from each good food to avoid and beat him. But Theo and his friends also learn about the effects that bad foods can have on a person. They learn that too much sugar and fat can make a person feel sick and slow. Common Sense Media is an organization that advises parents about television programs for children. They research television programs and say what things are good and bad about them. They say that Nutri Ventures is a good program for children. On their website, they said: “Children will have so much fun watching the characters’ adventures that they will not even know that they are learning at the same time. It is impossible not to learn what the program teaches about food and how to be healthy. But there is more to Nutri Ventures than just information about good food. Theo and his friends are excellent models of courage and working in a team. They respect the advice of their older, wiser, guides. There is a lot of fun in the program. But it also shows the struggle against injustice. It shows what happens when an oppressive group controls a food supply. This is a serious subject that the program shows again and again.” Nutri Ventures is a success all around the world. It is broadcast in 20 countries. These countries include Portugal, Hungary, Thailand, Albania, and many more. The Nutri Ventures Corporation works with food experts in each country. Together, they make sure the message of how to be healthy fits for each different culture. But the television show is only a part of the business. Miranda and Carvalho have made the Nutri Ventures website a place where children can play games to learn. Parents and doctors can also go there to learn ways to talk to children about healthy eating. Education about healthy food is the beginning of health. The World Health Organization says people can prevent child obesity. They can help people grow into healthier adults. They advise that children should eat many different foods, and only a small amount of fats, salt and sugar. They also advise that people should be physically active. Do you think a television program can encourage healthy eating? Where do you get your information about healthy food? Tell us about your experiences. You can leave a comment on our website.