On 8 November, as part of the celebration of the European Day of Healthy Food and Cooking, the Faculty to Help, with the support of the Nutrition Laboratory, carried out two activities with the FM population.

In the morning activity, individual nutrition assessment and counselling sessions were held with the collaboration of nutritionists coordinated by Professor Catarina Sousa Guerreiro and Dr Sara Policarpo. They were attended by 41 people, mostly women (80%) with the average age of 32 years (20-66 years). The mean Body Mass Index was 22.9 kg/m2. Five cases of overweight (BMI>25kg/m2) and three cases of obesity (BMI>30kg/m2) were identified, with eight of the participants evidencing higher waist circumference than the recommended value, which is associated with higher cardiovascular risk. The assessment led to fifteen participants being referred for further Dietetics and Nutrition consultation.

The individualized nutritional counselling was based on nutritional assessment and adherence to the Mediterranean diet. There was evidence of low adherence to this diet, the main reasons being the low consumption of pulses, fruit and vegetables.

In the afternoon, a show cooking session was held for 38 participants with Chef Fábio Bernardino and his team from Travel & Flavours, under the theme "Healthy Lunch Boxes".

In this session, Chef Fábio prepared a soup, a main course and a midday meal option. The preparation of the food for cooking these dishes was carried out by members of the public and, in the end, all the participants had the opportunity to taste the dishes.

 



 

The celebration of this day would not have been possible without the support of the Faculty Board and the nutritionists involved: Ana Isabel Almeida, Ana Salomé Patrício, Catarina Santos Domingos, Rita Ribeiro, Rita de Oliveira Serra, Chef Fábio Bernardino, and his team, who accepted our challenge.

 



The Team of the Faculty to Help
Sara Policarpo
faculdadedeajudar@medicina.ulisboa.pt