Gitta Berg, a licensed educator, nutritionist, and doctoral student at the Department of Nutrition at Uppsala University. Sushi plate with pictures: Adobe Stock
research
Most people know what a board model is. However, it is hidden in the context of school research, according to researcher Geeta Berg, who has investigated how the board model can be used as a teaching tool in home and consumer education.
At the end of the nineteenth century, when today’s equivalent of home and consumer knowledge was introduced in the country’s girls’ schools, the goal was to educate people to become healthier. Everything in order to have a strong and able-bodied population. Today, the purpose is similar, but the subject content has changed radically and now encompasses a large portion of today’s social issues, everything from how to manage one’s personal finances to how to become an environmentally conscious consumer while following a healthy diet. Regarding the latter, nutritional physiologist Britt-Marie Anderson played a crucial role. In the 1970s, she developed the painting model that still occupies a central place in our consciousness today. Which was then launched on a wide front by the Swedish Food Agency in 1992.
Present at every lesson
Only this The region is something that Jetta Berg, a PhD student in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Uppsala University, has taken a closer look at. Or more specifically: how the board model is used in teaching today.
– The interest arose when I followed teaching HKK at a school and realized how incredibly important the board model is. They appear in almost every lesson, and in different ways, says Geeta Berg, citing some examples: on posters, in the textbook, on the blackboard – in different contexts. Often, students had to place the food on the plate according to the prescribed plate model.
The painting model is something everyone encounters, but we rarely think about, and there is nothing scientifically written about it from an educational perspective, she says.
I have now immersed myself in nutritional advice, course plans and textbooks and studied how teachers use the model as a teaching tool to communicate knowledge about food and eating.
– But the plate model is not only used to communicate about nutrition, it is also about ethics and has become a kind of template for eating right, which is exciting. If the board model represents what is “true,” then everything else is automatically false.
It is difficult to apply it to all foods
However, using the board model as a teaching tool can, in some cases, become problematic. For example, she explains that today’s food culture is very diverse. We eat not only meat, potatoes and vegetables, but also sushi, pizza, salads…
– In this way, it has its limits. It is not possible to sit down and choose vegetables and meat from the meal. So if you have it as a template for correct eating, it becomes a fairly narrow frame.
But it’s still a good starting point for dealing with questions about how food and nutrition are linked, she adds.
– Although it is not possible to simply translate the plate model into nutrients, as many might do, into the three different parts of the plate: protein, carbohydrates and vitamins. All foods contain a little bit of everything, as well as nutritious fats. So it wouldn’t be quite right if you chose to teach nutrition in this way.
A good tool after all
In the curriculum commentary material in Home and Consumer Studies, the panel model was brought up as something teachers would encourageBreed to use. Despite the limitationGeeta Berg believes that the model is a good teaching tool.
– Instead of saying that the plate model represents the right thing, you should explain that it is a way of thinking about getting all the parts in the meal. But you need to stay updated because new tips and guidelines related to the board model are released regularly. The painting model doesn’t look the same today as it did five or six years ago.
Five different panel models
- The first model of the plate in 1976:
Food consists of three equal portions of proteins, fruits/vegetables/root vegetables, and potatoes/bread/rice/pasta. In the 1970s there was only a plate model. - Day plate model for those who move regularly:
A serving of vegetables and potatoes/pasta/bread/cereal can be the same size, and a serving of protein is slightly smaller. - For those who move a little less:
Reduce calories and eat more vegetables and root vegetables (half the plate) which contain a lot of fiber and fewer calories. - For the environmentally conscious:
Increase and decrease in food from the plant kingdom the animals. Choose vegetables rich in fiberEat root vegetables such as cabbage, beans and onions over salad vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers. Choose potatoes, pasta, and grits instead of rice. - For older people with decreased appetite:
Reduce your intake of vegetables, root vegetables, rice, and pasta. Keep your protein intake from meat, fish, eggs or beans and add more fat.
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