The Marathon Health and NSW Government initiative was developed to encourage adults to model good behaviours for children and young people to create better health outcomes and make healthier life choices.

Marathon Health’s dietitian Megan English said early exposure to healthy eating habits was important to ensure that children are getting adequate nutrients.

“We decided to host our morning tea at Good Start Learning Centre to educate children through fun and tactile activities such as introducing them to healthy foods they may not have tried before,” she said.

Ms English said developing healthy eating habits at a young age sets a foundation for healthy eating into adolescents and adulthood.

In addition to educating children at the child care centre, parents were provided with tips for packing healthy lunchboxes.

“For some parents preschool is their introduction to the school routine,” Ms English said.

“There are so many different food products that target parents and the school lunch so we want to help them make healthier choices for their children to give them the best nutritional value as they grow.”​