Students taste food at a catering class aiming to promote healthy eating habits at the Experimental School Affiliated to Niulanshan First Secondary School in Beijing on Dec. 20. (Photo/Xinhua)
While cooking mushrooms and leafy greens on a stovetop, Wu Kejian explained to 50 students attending a catering class how to make a nutritious meal with less oil and salt.
When the mushrooms were tender, he turned off the flame, served the steaming dish and invited students to taste it.
Wu is a cook at the Experimental School Affiliated to Niulanshan First Secondary School in Beijing's Shunyi district. He and four other school cooks have been trained to teach students how to make nutritious dishes at biweekly classes.
The class is part of the Nutrition School project in Shunyi.
With a focus on nutrition education, the project aims to explore new methods that can help students change their eating habits and become healthier.
Zhao Wenhua, a dietitian in charge of the project, said nutrition education focuses on the role of food, knowledge about nutrition and the cultivation of good eating habits in promoting the development and growth of children and adolescents.
The State Council issued a new guideline to implement the Healthy China initiative and promote people's health in July.
With a focus on disease prevention and health promotion, the guideline proposed 15 special campaigns to "intervene in health-influencing factors, protect full-life-cycle health and prevent and control major diseases".
An action plan for 2019-2030, devised by a State Council special committee, was made public in July, specifying the objectives, tasks and responsibilities of each campaign.
Major health concerns, including psychological health, student myopia, childhood obesity and cancer are covered by the campaigns.
