Obesity and childhood

This book identifies the exchange of information and intervention actions between education managers and nutritionists from the PNAE, with a view to promoting food education and improving student adherence to the government programme. The methodology consisted of semi-structured interviews with the principals of two state schools in the municipality of Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, and two nutritionists working at CECANE, an entity that works for the PNAE in the state of Santa Catarina. The results showed a lack of information and distance from the topic among school principals, as well as a lack of incentives for healthy eating education. We also suggest that the low adherence of students to the food offered by the school through the PNAE is due to a lack of investment in knowledge about meals. On the one hand, nutritionists working at CECANE report successful work with municipal schools and, on the other, they recognise a bureaucratic and functional distance from state schools, which hinders their work. Here we point to a paradox in public policy: although the state school system offers healthy food, it does not always serve as an effective source of nutrition.