Matthew Mancao, a student of Marianas High School, and Albert Palacios, a student of Saipan Southern High School, are currently involved with the activities of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, which is coordinated by Patricia Coleman and Rose Castro.
Obesity is a major issue that teenagers face today. They usually do not pay much attention to what they eat and forget to practice moderation in doing so. Peer pressure can be classified as one major cause of a teen’s unhealthy eating habits. More often than not, teenagers usually base their eating habits and choices on the group they hang out with.
EFNEP is aimed at discouraging such peer pressure and perhaps using peer pressure to its advantage—to fight fire with fire. Through their seminars and presentations, EFNEP aims to use peer pressure to spread the benefits of eating healthy.
As part of their internship, Mancao and Palacios are learning how to choose healthier eating habits.
It is hoped that they will share the knowledge they have accumulated through their experience in assisting other teenagers to learn how to eat right and make healthier decisions. Through efforts like theirs, cases of obesity will gradually diminish.
The two interns were with Castro last Saturday at one of EFNEP’s presentations, in which they assisted Castro with a demonstration on how to bake healthy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from scratch.
By doing so, they were able to substitute the recipe’s usual pre-made ingredients with even healthier ones. The people who attended this presentation were actually quite impressed.
Many people tend to forget about healthy eating habits and just do what ever they please with the meal they are preparing. Now, they will keep in mind how to make better healthy choices and healthier eating habits. Although Mancao and Palacios have less than two weeks left with EFNEP, they greatly appreciate every opportunity they were given to experiment and learn, and all the time and effort Coleman and Castro have put in to make their internship as educational as it was enjoyable.
