Ecumenical High is new nutrition champ

While many of us were wondering whether or not it was safe to start dipping into our hurricane rations, today high school students from all over Belize were contemplating very different nutritional questions… lots of questions. And best of all, the kinds of questions that could lead to prizes. News Five’s Janelle Chanona was there for the battle against the bulge.

Janelle Chanona, Reporting
Today, students and teachers from throughout the country gathered at the Princess Hotel to participate in the seventh annual ADM Belize Mills Nutrition Quiz.

Having emerged as district winners, the seven secondary institutions included the Belize Adventist College representing Corozal; Orange Walk Technical High; Wesley College and St. Michael?s College competed for the Belize District; the Cayo delegates came from Mount Carmel; Stann Creek reps hailed from Ecumenical High; while the students of the Tumul Kin Learning Centre was team Toledo.

According to Quizmaster Lorraine Thompson, greater participation this year means their message is reaching more Belizean homes.

Lorraine Thompson, Quizmaster
?We feel that it is a fun way of getting secondary school students more interesting in nutrition. We have lots of problems with nutrition in this country. We have problems with under-nutrition, we do have pockets of malnutrition in the country, but we have an emerging problem of obesity and problems that are associated with obesity, we have hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases. And in the face of all that, we don?t have the human resources to deal with it; we don?t really have very many trained nutritionists working in the public sector.?

And while the students busted their brains, sponsors, officials, and teachers busted a move with mascot Nutripower.

(Organisers dancing with mascot)

The event is designed to be educational and entertaining but tonight officials hope it will also make a difference.

Lorraine Thompson
?We see more interest. I think that the quiz is now in its seventh year and it?s perhaps a little too soon to say whether there has been an impact, we have not yet done an evaluation, we?re hoping to do one between now and the next quiz and then we?ll be able to better to say. But I feel that with the interest that has been generated over the past years, that there is some interest and perhaps some impact.?

Quizmaster
?True or false: the liver is the least likely place for vitamin B to be stored??

Ecumenical High
?False.?

Quizmaster
?You are correct.?

But there could only be one winner and this year students Lisa Chang, Philip Usher and Jermie Usher of Ecumenical High from the Stann Creek district claimed top honours.

At the end of month, the Ecumenical students will compete via teleconference with scholars from other Caribbean countries in a regional nutritional knowledge competition. Reporting for News Five, I am Janelle Chanona.