Posts in category: Veggies News

The Veggies4MyHeart project was present at the 17th edition of the European Public Health Conference (EPHC), held from 12 to 15 November 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal. Two posters were presented by Professor Sara Simões Dias during the event:

• “Influence of Vegetable Knowledge in Preschoolers’ Vegetable Consumption: Veggies4MyHeart Project”
• “Veggies4MyHeart – An Educational Project to Promote Vegetable Knowledge and Consumption Among Preschool Children”

The posters highlighted results from the project’s interventions, which focused on increasing vegetable knowledge and consumption among preschool-aged children. Pedagogical strategies such as storybooks, digital games, and educational sessions were implemented in several preschools across the Leiria district.

The project’s presence at EPHC underscored the importance of nutrition education as a critical tool for promoting healthy eating habits and improving child public health, emphasising the vital role of parents and educators as models.

The Veggies4myHeart team was again present at the annual Congress of the Portuguese Nutrition Association last Thursday, May 16, 2024. The XXIII Nutrition and Food Congress occurred at the Lisbon Congress Center with the theme “Nutrition: A Science for Inclusion.”

At this event, the Veggies4myHeart project had the opportunity to present the Poster entitled “Assessment of the Effectiveness of Pedagogical Tools on Vegetable Consumption Among Preschool Children:  Results of the Veggies4Myheart Project”.

Last Monday, May 13, 2024, ciTechCare celebrated its 5th anniversary, holding a joint event with the Research Center of the Local Health Unit of the Leiria Region, which also celebrated its 10th anniversary.

At this event, the Veggies4myHeart project had the opportunity to share its journey since its creation, having highlighted the results of all the years of intervention.

The 4th year student of the Degree in Dietetics and Nutrition, Joana Edra, had the opportunity to present the work developed and results obtained over the years.

Last Saturday, November 25, 2023, the AGILidades project, dedicated to designing motor skills and mental agility games, organized the “Healthy Longevity Conference – The Urgency in Innovation.”

At this event, the Veggies4myHeart project was invited to share its journey since its creation, having highlighted the results achieved in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic years.

The representative of the Veggies4myHeart project, Principal Investigator Cátia Braga-Pontes, had the opportunity to present the work developed and results obtained over the years. Her participation in the “Healthy Habits in Childhood and Youth” panel highlighted the importance of promoting healthy lifestyles from an early age.

The Veggies4myHeart Project crossed borders and participated in the “Conference: Prevention of Childhood Obesity,” held from October 30 to November 3, 2023, in Hillerød, Denmark.

The Veggies4myHeart Team was proud to see Nutritionist and Principal Investigator Cátia Braga-Pontes represent the project at the event, presenting the poster “Impact of the Veggies4myHeart Project on Preschoolers’ Willingness to Try Vegetables”. This work highlighted the project’s influence on children’s willingness to try vegetables.

The team expresses gratitude to the Polytechnic of Leiria for its constant support and for believing in the project’s mission of encouraging healthy eating habits from childhood.

The Veggies4myHeart Project was at the 2nd European Congress on Maternal and Child Nutrition. The event occurred at the Dr. António Cupertino de Miranda Foundation in Porto on October 20th and 21st, 2023.

The poster entitled “The Relationship Between Food Preferences and Willingness to Try Vegetables” was presented during the congress.

Dr. Cátia Braga-Pontes, Nutritionist and Principal Investigator of the Veggies4myHeart Project presented the 2022/23 Edition investigation results. The research revealed that the desire to try vegetables is correlated with the food preferences reported by parents.

On October 13, 2023, the Veggies4myHeart team was present at Escola Básica de Cabeças in the Municipality of Estarreja. The visit was a success, led by two nutritionists and two curricular interns from the Degree in Dietetics and Nutrition at the Escola Superior de Saúde de Leiria (ESSLei) from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria.

During the visit, the 35 preschool and 1st CEB children had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the Veggies4myHeart project, which aims to promote knowledge and consumption of vegetables in children. The activities included a presentation about the project and Veggies and a moment to experience the Veggies4myHeart digital game.

In addition, children participated in a 5-vegetable tasting, providing a practical opportunity to explore and appreciate the diversity of flavors and textures that vegetables offer.

Students from Escola de Cabeça demonstrated their creativity by presenting the team with a charming song about vegetables, showing their enthusiasm and understanding of the benefits of including them in a healthy diet.

Finally, the students surprised the Veggies4myHeart team with carefully handmade puppets representing each of the Veggies. This gesture was received with gratitude and enthusiasm.

The team expressed their happiness at the warm welcome from Escola Básica de Cabeças.

On the 28th and 29th of September, the Palace of Dom Manuel I, in Évora, hosted the 2nd Congress of the Network of Higher Education Institutions for the Safeguard of the Mediterranean Diet/2nd International Conference on Mediterranean Diet and Gastronomy. This event brought together professionals from different areas to debate the future of the Mediterranean diet.

On the first day of this conference, Nutritionist Rita Nunes Novo, from the Veggies4myHeart Team, presented the notable results of the Project through the Oral Communication entitled “Impact of the Veggies4myHeart Project on the Consumption of Vegetables in Pre-School Age School Year 2022/23”.

The results revealed a significant increase in the consumption of vegetables among participating children, demonstrating that the Veggies4myHeart Project, through its pedagogical tools, continues to achieve the objective of promoting healthier eating habits and the consumption of vegetables in preschool-age children.

On March 2, 2023, the 2nd edition of the Pediatrics Congress took place at Hospital da Luz.

Nutritionist Cátia Pontes, principal researcher of the Veggies4myHeart Project, represented the entire team in the oral communication “Parents’ Perception of the Nutritional Status of Preschool Children – Veggies4myHeart Project”.

This oral communication addressed the issue of being overweight during childhood. Parental perception regarding the nutritional status of preschool children is crucial in raising awareness of childhood obesity and can be very relevant in its prevention.

In the 2022/23 Edition, the project intervened in 3 kindergartens in the municipality of Leiria. A questionnaire was administered to the children’s legal representatives. This instrument consisted of sociodemographic data and questions about parents’ perception of their children’s nutritional status. The body mass index (BMI) was used, based on the World Health Organization’s growth curves, to categorize the children. The results published in the oral communication taken to the Pediatrics Congress emerged from the responses to the questionnaire.

Given the results obtained, the Veggies4myHeart project exposed the importance of raising awareness among parents about the actual nutritional status of their children, who tend to perceive them as having a normal nutritional status, which could delay the search for specialized help and correct referral.

The oral communication was awarded as one of the best works at the event.