București, 24 mai 2024
The Path to Success Conferences, the first series of free conferences in Romania for teachers and parents, uniting mental and nutritional education, continues with a new edition on Friday, May 24, 2024, at 6:00 PM. The event will feature Dr. Cristian Andrei and Dr. Alina Epure, Nutritionist, addressing nearly 1,000 participants in the Aula Magna of Politehnica University of Bucharest.
Nearly a thousand teachers and parents from Bucharest schools will attend the second edition of The Path to Success Conferences, titled “The Mental and Nutritional Education of the Child: Behaviors – Causes and Effects.” This event, organized for preschool and primary education, is hosted by the Children’s Film and Television School “Micile Vedete” (NGO), www.micilevedete.ro, in partnership with the Bucharest School Inspectorate and Politehnica University.
At the initiative of sociologist Emma Pendiuc, Dr. Cristian Andrei and Dr. Alina Epure, a medical doctor and nutritionist, offer practical solutions to pressing modern challenges: food and screen addiction, chaotic and unhealthy eating habits, the impact of consumerism on children, and increased states of agitation and aggression in schools and at home.
“The child lives each moment open to what the adult offers them. This makes them vulnerable when society pushes them to consume all kinds of things on sale. As an educator, you can choose for them for a while, but it’s far better to cultivate their discernment as consumers. From our discussion, the audience will learn that health doesn’t matter much to children; instead, they care about what their peers consume. This is where education begins,” stated neuropsychiatrist Dr. Cristian Andrei.
“The nutrition of the brain and body goes hand in hand with the mental and emotional health of the child. Yet, these two major components of life itself are treated separately, in different disciplines. I don’t believe we can separate the mind from the head or the head from the body. They are a unified whole, and it is essential to harmoniously and balancedly integrate them. I am deeply pleased that this long-standing idea of mine—to bring together common solutions from both the mental and psycho-emotional realm and from nutrition, while having a focused, meaningful dialogue on what pains us most during this time—has taken shape through the extraordinary openness and valuable contributions of my guests, Dr. Cristian Andrei and Dr. Alina Epure, to whom I am profoundly grateful,” said Ema Pendiuc, sociologist, TV producer, and founder of the Children’s Film and Television School “Micile Vedete.”
Romania Among Top EU Countries for Childhood Obesity
According to a study conducted by the National Institute of Public Health in 2020, based on the COSI (European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative) protocol, 3 out of 10 children aged 7-9 are overweight or suffer from obesity. Alarmingly, such cases are increasingly common even among children under the age of seven.
Experts warn that while multiple factors contribute to the risk of childhood obesity, psychological factors are often overlooked. Addressing both the physical and mental aspects is crucial in developing effective prevention strategies.
Dr. Alina Epure, a medical doctor and nutritionist, explained that you cannot expect academic performance from a child who suffers from significant vitamin and mineral deficiencies in their brain.
“A healthy diet, adapted to individual needs, plays a crucial role in the journey from potential to performance. Proper nutrition not only ensures a normal body weight throughout life but also contributes to the harmony of mind, body, and soul. A balanced and nutritious diet supports cognitive development, healthy growth, and the formation of lifelong healthy habits. Through proper nutritional education, we can give children the chance to live in harmony and reach their full potential in all aspects of life,” she emphasized.
The free-access conference titled “The Mental and Nutritional Education of the Child: Behaviors – Causes and Solutions”, held in Aula Magna for teachers and parents in preschool and primary education, is part of the “Path to Success Conferences” series. This initiative is a wide-reaching awareness campaign on the importance of mental and nutritional education, initiated by the founders of the Children’s Film and Television School “Micile Vedete”, Emma Pendiuc and Ariana Pendiuc (film director).
București, 15 martie 2024
After the years of experience gained through my show Drumul Succesului (The Path to Success), broadcast on TVR 1, where I interviewed prominent personalities of Romania, and as a mother, considering a reality we are currently facing and cannot ignore—namely, childhood overweight, a fact I have witnessed growing alarmingly over the past 14 years since we started offering free educational movie screenings for children, organized by my film school, in schools across the country—I believe the time has come for me to contribute to the much-needed change. This change involves raising awareness about the importance of MENTAL AND NUTRITIONAL EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN. The form I have given to this initiative is the “PATH TO SUCCESS CONFERENCES” series.
The educational conference on March 15th, at Sala Dalles, features the distinguished guest Professor Dumitru Dulcan. Joining him are Dr. Alina Epure, a nutritionist and medical doctor, and Cristina Puiu, a clinical psychologist. The conference will be hosted and moderated by Emma Pendiuc, sociologist and TV producer, and president of the “Micile Vedete” Film School.
The conference is specifically organized for teachers in primary education from schools in Bucharest and is free of charge for all participants. The General Inspectorate of Bucharest is a partner in this event. Parents are also welcome, as well as the entire Path to Success community, which I have built around the MindSet Thinking Into Results program.
We are living in times of the most acute mental health crisis in human history, with a childhood obesity rate in Romania exceeding 30%… and rising. The danger to our children is “at the door,” and we deeply want to contribute to their protection. How? First, as adults, we must be well-informed and provide them with SOLUTIONS. This conference is about CONCRETE SOLUTIONS on how to feed our children healthily and how to protect them mentally from the agitation, consumerism, and addictions already present in society.