According to Public Health Ontario, health promotion often involves the process of implementing a range of social and environmental interventions that enable people and communities to increase control over and to improve their health (PHO, 2024). Health promotion views health as socio-ecological: health is shaped by the structural and social determinants of health and it aims to transform the social conditions that shape health and the distribution of health by addressing those determinants of health (PHO, 2024).
When reflecting back upon earlier years from my childhood and early adulthood, health promotion regarding a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating is something I strongly remember and still see today. From educational settings to home life and professional settings, adapting a healthy lifestyle and eating well is something that is broadcasted almost everywhere. Aspects such as health education, nutrition education, dietary change strategies and environmental modification, with content focusing on diet only or on diet and exercise in the settings of schools, workplaces, primary care, the community (cafeterias and restaurants) and supermarket are examples of health promotion in a verity of settings (Roe et al., 1997). Promotion of a healthy lifestyle is important for a variety of reasons and in order to lead a healthy life from the preschool age, individuals have to improve their health by increasing their control over their own health (Şenol & Senol, 2023). Health promotion includes a social and individual process and aims to achieve the optimal health level of individuals from an early age which is why many may remember seeing about and learning about this throughout their childhood (Şenol & Senol, 2023). One of the most memorable things I remember is the Canadian Food Guide that presented a photo of a plate and the recommended portions needed to eat healthy, I have included that photo below. This not only gets revised but is also allows individuals to make small changes they see fit in order to meet their nutritional goals. Health promotion in regards to healthy eating and lifestyle has been around for ages and will continue to be so individuals can protects themselves against many chronic noncommunicable diseases (Şenol & Senol, 2023).
Reference:
Roe, L., Hunt, P., Bradshaw, H., & Rayner, M. (1997, January 1). Health promotion interventions to promote healthy eating in the general population: A Review. Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE): Quality-assessed Reviews [Internet]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK66821/
Şenol, Y., & Şenol, F. B. (2023). Health Promotion in preschool children. Children, 10(8), 1385. https://doi.org/10.3390/children10081385
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