Nobody likes home economics  . But restoring the program could help us in the fight against obesity and chronic   diseases today. The home economics movement was founded on the belief that housework and food preparation were important subjects that should be studied scientifically. The first classes occurred in the agricultural and technical colleges that were built in the 1860s. When most departments of universities rejected women, home economics was a back door into higher education. Indeed, in the early 20th century, home economics was a serious subject When few people understood germ   theory and almost no one had heard of vitamins, home economics classes offered vital information about washing hands regularly, eating fruits and vegetables and not feeding coffee to babies. However, today we remember only the fixed ideas about home economics, forgetting the movement's most important lessons on healthy eating and cooking. Too many Americans simply don't know how to cook. Our diets, consisting of highly processed foods made cheaply outside the home, have contributed to many serious health problems. In the last decade, many cities and states have tried to tax junk food heavily or to ban the use of food stamps   to buy soda. Clearly, many people are doubtful about any governmental steps to promote healthy eating. But what if the government put the tools of obesity prevention in the hands of children themselves by teaching them how to cook? My first experience with home economics happened two decades ago when I was a seventh grader in a North Carolina public school. A year later, my father's job took our family to Wales, where I attended a large school for a few months. It was the first time I had ever really cooked anything. I remember that it was fun, and with an instructor standing by, it wasn't hard. Those lessons stuck with me when I first started cooking for my husband and myself after college and they still do. Teaching cooking in public schools can help solve some problems facing Americans today. The history of home economics shows it's possible. Home economics  _  .
is a subject becoming more and more popular with Americans is often used to help fight against obesity and chronic diseases once offered women a. special approach to university education was first taught in the agricultural and technical colleges in the early 1900s