Purpose of Activity: This activity is designed to show students how difficult it can be to make healthy food choices and to help them understand the nutritional information available for a variety of foods. Many students have no idea how to make good food choices, or how to interpret nutritional information. Many students are keen to adopt or maintain a healthy active lifestyle, yet neglect to ensure that they are eating from all the food groups and that they are consuming nutritious food that is beneficial to them.
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of the main food groups.
Handouts:
Fast Food Quiz Nutrition Questions
Fast Food Quiz Answer Sheet
Fast Food Quiz Resources
Description of Idea
At the end of the activity, students compare answers they came up with to the correct answers. We then discuss which questions they found most surprising and most difficult to figure out.
Fast Food Quiz Nutrition Questions
Fast Food Quiz Answer Sheet
Fast Food Quiz Resources
Suggestions:
For the questions, nutritional information available online is used for a variety of fast food restaurants. For example, students were asked to select the meal which they thought contained the least amount of fat or calorie, when given a range of choices. The portion distortion quiz is also used, located at
http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/
to show the students how portion sizes have changed over time.
Extension questions: Students, what do you know and understand about various nutritional components and terms used? What role does fiber play? Why do we want to limit our intake of saturated fat? What words or ingredients help you determine if a food choice might be higher in sodium?
Source: PE Central
http://proquestk12.com/bulletins/11JAN/Lesson_SIRS_Issues_Researcher.shtml
Purpose of Activity: To have students learn about the nutritional value of their favorite fast foods.
Materials Needed: Nutritional guides from three different fast food places; Nutritional guidelines can be retrieved from the Internet or each specific fast food restaurant.
Description of Idea
Students will select a meal they would choose at three different fast food restaurants (one meal for each restaurant). Students will then determine the total calories they consume for each of their meals, using the nutritional guides online for each restaurant. Students will find total fat grams, total grams of carbohydrate and grams of protein for their meal.
You can also have the students determine the percentage of
calories coming from fat, carbohydrate, and protein. The students will then
compare these percentages with recommended guidelines for each of the
nutrients for kids their age. Students should also look at the fiber
component of each of the meals and compare them with recommended
guidelines for fiber intake. Students will then assess which of the three meals they originally chosen was the healthiest choice.
Source: PE Central
