Ms. Audrey Liow (second from right), Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of Nestle Indochina, with senior management of Nestle (Thai) Ltd. including Mr. Nophadol Siwabutr (second from left), Corporate Affairs Director; Mr. Eugene Chan(right), Communications and Marketing Services Director; and Ms. Kanokthip Prinyarnussorn (left), Corporate Communication and PR Group Manager; together with the program mascots Lele, Nu Nueng and Nu Nid, at the opening of the Nestle booth that highlights the Healthy Thai Kids program.
Ms. Audrey Liow (third from right), Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of Nestle Indochina; Mr. Nophadol Siwabutr (second from right), Corporate Affairs Director, Nestle (Thai) Ltd.; Mr. Eugene Chan (right), Communications and Marketing Services Director, Nestle (Thai) Ltd.; Mr. Sangha Darmaphong (third from left), Consultant to the Department of Health; Dr. Bunjerdporn Susunsuk (second from left), Deputy Director of the Office of the Basic Education Commission of the Ministry of Education;and Mr. Somchoke Khunsanong (left), Researcher at the Institute of Nutrition of Mahidol University, at the opening of the Nestle booth highlighting the Healthy Thai Kids program.
Nestle, the leading Nutrition, Health, and Wellness company, reinforced its commitment to promoting proper nutrition and good health for Thai children by highlighting the achievements of its sustainable "Healthy Thai Kids" program which has run for over a decade. At a seminar titled "Nestle Joins Forces to Enable Good Nutrition and Good Health for Thai Kids," held to celebrate the auspicious occasion of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's 5th CircleBirthday, a Nestle booth featured various edutainment activities such as the "Healthy Thai Kids" program, "Healthy Family Caravan" and school sports activities to promote a balanced diet and active lifestyles and how to read a nutrition label to make informed choices. The event took place on the 5th floor of Royal Siam Paragon shopping mall.
Ms. Kanokthip Prinyarnussorn, Corporate Communication and PR Group Manager for Nestle (Thai) Ltd. and the program leader, said, "Food and nutrition play a key role in improving the health and well-being of people of all ages. Changing lifestyles leads Thai people towards developing inappropriate eating habits. They don't eat enough fruits & vegetables and prefer food with too much salt, sugar, and fat, while they also exercise less. This results in many chronic health conditions, often referred to as 'lifestyle diseases'."
Nestle believes in the importance of establishing the right foundation for good health at young ages by promoting health and nutrition knowledge and encourage children to be physically active, which will enhance a child's physical, emotional, and cognitivegrowth. Research on children's health shows that Thai children have the risks of both insufficient nutrient intake and an significant increase of overweight. In 2004, Nestle, in collaboration with the Department of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Ministry of Public Health, and the Office of Basic Education Commission (OBEC) under the Ministry of Education, launched the Healthy Thai Kids program to drive for health promotion mission. It aims to raise awareness and provide education about nutrition and healthy living among key influencers such as parents, teachers, and communities, who play a major role in promoting good nutrition, health and wellness for children. Under this collaboration, Nestle has developed edutainment materials covering nutrition and exercise that are fun and easy for school-children aged 6-12 to understand. The materials feature concepts such as Read the label; Adjust your behavior to eat five food groups (especially more fruits and vegetables); Move your body to burn what you eat; and Avoid food that is too salty, oily, or sweet. Children are encouraged to change their habits and make their daily routines healthier.
Nestle has continually rolled out various activities to enhance the program, such as teacher seminars, "Healthy Thai Kids Day" and "Winning Good Health Within 8 Weeks Mission" among 150 participating schools. The program has done pre and post tests to measure children's attitudes and behaviours. The key success was that many children now know and understand more about proper eating. Most importantly, these children have made positive changes to their eating habits, consuming less salt, sugar, and oils, and eating a greater variety of vegetables.
NestleThailand's pride in pioneering Nestle global health promotion for kids
Over the past 10 years, Nestle Thailand has donated 23,000 sets of teaching materials to more than 13,000 schools and reached over 1.6 million school kids nationwide through the Healthy Thai Kids program. It has become a role model of health promotion program under the Nestle Global Healthy Kids Program, which aims to increase nutrition and health knowledge and promote physical activity to school-age children worldwide, including the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, and Australia.
"Nestle is committed to continuously develop tasty and nutritious food and beverage products together with providing knowledge and understanding about balanced diet and healthy lifestyles. This reflects Nestle's commitment in 'Good Food, Good Life' to improve health and quality of life for all Thai consumers," concluded Ms. Kanokthip.