Last year, I got the chance to start shadowing at the hospital and came across numerous patients who were suffering from diet-related diseases like obesity and cardiovascular disease.

It was striking to listen to the doctor’s lengthy prognosis for the patient’s terminal issue, especially because it was such an easy issue to fix. I couldn’t wrap my head around it at the time: a patient was suffering immensely and wasn’t intrinsically motivated one bit to fix their diet — the number one contributor to their disease.

Talking to some of these patients made me realize that the lack of nutrition education they received as children was the main reason they were in the condition they were in today. As one who grew up with my parents providing me with the right nourishment, I never had to go through these issues of suffering from not being educated about the food I eat.

The 60% of children still consuming at least one sugary drink is directly linked to the 40% of adults suffering from obesity, the leading cause of death in the United States today. For such an essential issue that has the ability to decide someone’s trajectory in life, it was alarming to hear that no one had taught these patients about the basics of a healthy diet and discouraging sugary drinks and processed foods until they were experiencing life-threatening complications.

I’ve realized that some patients are still willing to cater from fast food restaurants like McDonalds when struggling from conditions like cardiovascular disease because of the addictions they built to these unhealthy, processed foods. Breaking habits like these and adopting proper diets have been shown to be able to save one in five lives globally.

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In today’s society, it is universally agreed that nutrition education is not recognized at the scale it should be, especially at a young age. This is why I’m advocating for nutrition education to be integrated into the existing elementary school curriculum at all schools.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only half of all schools have a district or state requirement for students in kindergarten through eighth grade which leaves more than half of the kids at U.S elementary schools completely uneducated about what they should eat. It is the goal of local organizations and advocates to make sure the right nutrition education reaches elementary schools across the U.S, especially in areas that have a high population of minority groups as research has consistently shown they are the people most prone to diet-related health diseases.

            In my local community, I’ve started an outreach organization, Nutrients Without Limits, with the help of my friend, Vijay Taylor, that aims to educate kids at elementary schools about adopting a healthy diet through sharing health tips and blogs as well as hosting weekly webinars. With our organization, we help spread the word about the importance of a healthy diet as well as key insights as to how their diet could be modified to help them get the essential nutrients they need with our webinars.

            In addition to my organization, I’ve started a podcast, “Nutritious: Your Guide To A Healthier Lifestyle,” which aims to show the impact nutrition can have on our health and how to prevent these diet-related diseases. I’ve interviewed doctors, nutritionists, and athletes and have had amazing support receiving over 1,100 downloads in 18 countries currently.

            Overall, I would like this article to be a wake up call for everybody about the work that needs to be done for spreading nutrition education. I would strongly encourage everyone to initiate acts to help further spread nutrition education for the betterment of the health of our future generation.

Arnav Jain is a junior at Edgewood Jr/Sr High School. He is passionate about advocating for nutrition literacy.