Nowon-gu Operates Healthy Meal Project for Single-Person Households

Dietary Habits Worsen in 20s and Obesity in 30s-40s, Chronic Diseases Increase After 50s: "Need for Managing Health Risk Factors in Young and Middle-aged Adults"... Healthy Meal Project to Address Nutritional Imbalance and Deficiencies in Nutritionally Vulnerable Groups... Customized Education and Home-linked Activities to Improve Dietary Issues and Enhance Educational Effectiveness

Nowon-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will operate a cooking education program called ‘Cheoeum Yori’ for nutritionally vulnerable groups (single-person households, chronic disease patients, newlyweds, etc.).

According to the 2022 National Health and Nutrition Survey, one out of two people in their 20s skip breakfast, have a high fat intake rate, and only one out of ten consumes enough vegetables. Additionally, people in their 30s and 40s show worsening obesity and health behaviors, and those aged 50 and above have a continuous increase in chronic diseases, indicating the need for managing health risk factors among young and middle-aged adults.

Accordingly, the district planned the ‘Cheoeum Yori’ cooking education program, a healthy meal project for myself, targeting nutritionally vulnerable groups (single-person households, chronic disease patients, newlyweds, etc.). This is to resolve nutritional imbalance and nutrient deficiency issues among these groups and to cultivate cooking skills and dietary management abilities.

The ‘Cheoeum Yori’ program is conducted over two sessions. The first session focuses mainly on theoretical education to improve food literacy and form healthy eating habits, while the second session is centered on practical training.

In addition to common content such as ▲how to use nutritional components and nutrition labels ▲healthy 3·3·6 meal method and recipe provision, tailored education is also provided: ‘low-salt, low-sugar diet’ for middle-aged single-person households, ‘balanced meal composition’ for young single-person households, and ‘prevention of picky eating in our children’ for novice parents.

The program is held twice a month until November at the Madeul Health Center’s nutrition cooking room. Night classes are also available for those who find it difficult to attend daytime sessions due to work or studies.

For participation applications and other inquiries, contact the Lifelong Health Team of the Health Promotion Division at Nowon-gu Public Health Center.

Additionally, the district operates various programs to bridge nutritional gaps, such as ‘Kids, Let’s Eat Fruit and Play’ for low-income children and adolescents, nutrition education ‘Hyu (休), Nutrition Arcade’ for children at the I-Hyu Center, and chronic disease management and low-salt, low-sugar diet programs ‘Healthy Love Table (Geongangae Bapsang)’ for nutritionally vulnerable groups.

District Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “In these days when high-fat, high-calorie meals have become frequent, practicing healthy eating habits has become very important,” and added, “We will continue to build a customized nutrition management system and actively promote it for the health of our residents.”