– Purvi Gada, Curriculum Head, Kangaroo Kids International Preschool

Today’s urban childhood is surrounded by abundance. Supermarket aisles overflow with choices. Food delivery apps promise meals in minutes. Lunchboxes arrive packed with imported snacks, fortified drinks, and colourful convenience foods. Yet beneath this landscape of plenty lies a quieter, more unsettling truth: children who have access to almost everything are often missing what matters most.

According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data, India is witnessing a rapid surge in overweight and obesity among children under five, with prevalence rising by 127 per cent (from 1.5 per cent to 3.4 per cent between NFHS-3 (2005–06) and NFHS-5 (2019–21)).

Urban childhood is increasingly facing a form of hidden malnutrition, not marked by hunger but by nutritional imbalance. India’s growing “double burden” of malnutrition reflects this paradox: undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies coexist alongside rising childhood obesity and poor dietary diversity.

Nutrition in childhood is not measured only by a full plate; it is shaped by what fills that plate, the experiences surrounding it, and the subtle, formative years in which taste, choice, and habit begin to take form.

The early years are not merely a stage of growth; they are a period of architectural construction. During these foundational years, the brain builds neural highways at an astonishing speed. When nutrition falters, the consequences are not confined to physical health. They enter the classroom quietly as reduced concentration, lower energy levels, emotional dysregulation, recurring illness, absenteeism, and diminished readiness to learn.

Yet nutrition is not only a biological issue; it is also a behavioural one.

Human beings are evolutionarily wired to prefer combinations of sweet, salty, and fatty foods. In moderation, these preferences are natural survival instincts. In today’s hyper-processed food environment, however, these instincts are relentlessly amplified. The result is a palate trained to seek instant gratification over sustained nourishment.

Healthy eating, therefore, is not an automatic outcome of access. It is a learned relationship.

Taste preferences are built through repetition, exposure, participation, and emotional association. A child who repeatedly encounters colourful vegetables, wholesome meals, and positive food experiences is not just consuming nutrition; they are constructing a lifelong taste identity.

This is where early childhood education carries a profound responsibility.

The urgency of early nutrition becomes clearer when viewed through the lens of brain development. As highlighted during the 8th edition of Poshan Pakhwada, a nationwide awareness campaign led by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, scientific evidence indicates that over 85 per cent of brain development occurs by the age of six, making early childhood a defining window for nutrition, caregiving, and learning. The foundation is laid even earlier, during the first 1,000 days of life—from pregnancy to the age of two—recognised as critical for brain development, physical growth, immunity, and overall well-being.

Preschools are uniquely positioned to become the first foundation of healthy living—spaces where children do not merely hear about nutrition but experience it through curiosity, movement, storytelling, and play.

With young learners aged three to four years, nutrition education is intentionally woven into experiential learning. Children explore healthy eating not as an abstract concept but as a tangible, joyful part of everyday life. Through guided discussions, they learn to distinguish between nutritious and junk food while understanding the interconnected roles of exercise, rest, and hygiene in overall well-being.

Learning deepens through hands-on activities that transform concepts into lived experiences. Children sort foods using Venn diagrams, design their own “healthy plate”, and engage with the food pyramid through visual aids, dramatic play, and guided conversations. Outdoor obstacle games connect physical movement with wellness, while imaginative activities such as assembling a “healthy pizza” invite children to make thoughtful food choices through play.

Special interactions with nutritionists and culinary experts bring authenticity into the classroom, helping children understand that food does not begin and end on a plate; it is linked to science, culture, care, and conscious decision-making.

This multi-sensory approach matters because children do not build healthy habits through instruction alone. They build them by touching, sorting, tasting, discussing, imagining, moving, and doing.

If food shapes the body, education shapes behaviour.

The long-term implications extend far beyond preschool walls. The eating habits formed in early childhood influence future health outcomes, academic performance, emotional well-being, and an individual’s lifelong relationship with nourishment.

The solution to urban nutritional vulnerability, therefore, cannot rest solely in kitchens or healthcare systems. It must become a shared project between homes, educators, caregivers, and learning environments.

Because the future of nutrition is not decided when a teenager reads a calorie label or an adult joins a wellness programme. It begins much earlier—in the small hands of a child carefully placing fruits, grains, and vegetables onto a paper plate and, without fully realising it, learning how to nourish a lifetime.

Also Read: Why foundational literacy remains India’s biggest education challenge