How Healthy is Your Diet?
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Introduction: |
Did you know that: ˜
20% of children and teenagers in the ˜
Only 2% of children get their daily recommended servings of
fruit and vegetables ˜
1 in 3 children has cholesterol levels too high for good
heart health ˜
75% of fifth, seventh, and ninth graders did not meet Taking care of our bodies by eating right and exercising is very important to leading a long and medically trouble-free life. Being overweight has profound health implications. Obesity, or being very overweight, significantly increases a person’s risk of many life threatening conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and some types of cancer. Obesity is a preventable disease. However, two-thirds of American adults are overweight. Childhood obesity is at an all-time high. This is more than just a cosmetic concern. Ultimately, obesity can be life threatening. The good news is that even a small weight loss, if necessary, can bring improvements in health. Often this can be accomplished by combining healthier eating patterns (your “diet”) with more active behavior. In this webquest, we are going to learn about different types of foods, analyze some of the foods we eat, investigate diseases that are closely associated with being overweight, and rewrite a favorite family recipe to make it healthier. |
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Task: |
You will: ˜ Keep a journal of your daily food intake and reflections on how you felt on those days for one week ˜ Analyze 5 foods available in your home on a regular basis and determine whether or not they are healthy ˜ Analyze nutritional intake of a favorite family recipe and rewrite the recipe, making substitutions, to make it healthier ˜ Work in a group to compare the nutrition in 2 fast-food menu options ˜ Present your group’s findings on 2 fast-foods and their nutritional data, with a recommendation of what you could eat instead ˜ Investigate a disease associated with obesity, and present your findings to the class ˜ Make a recommendation (to yourself) regarding your diet and whether it is healthy or if you should change it ˜ Explain what “physical activity” means (including examples), why it is important, and how much you should get. ˜ Help compile the new recipes into a class cookbook |
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Process: |
Complete the following steps toward better health (in order): 1. Our journey begins with you keeping a journal. Every time you eat – even if it’s just a handful of hot Chee-tos from a friend, write it down. Keep track of when you ate, how much you ate, and how you felt after eating. Click on the Nutrition Journal and print out a journal page to get you started. Go to http://www.fns.usda.gov/eatsmartplayhard/collection/Files/ActivitySheets/quick_snacks_sheet.pdf and print out the maze to complete. What are “dead-end” snacks? What could you eat instead? Did any of these show up in your food journal? After you have kept your journal for one week, look back over your food choices and write one paragraph describing whether you think you eat mostly healthy foods, unhealthy foods, or a mix of both. Finish up your first step by going to http://www.fns.usda.gov/eatsmartplayhard/collection/Files/ActivitySheets/move_more_sheet.pdf and completing Power Panther’s word find. You’ll find a list of wonderful, healthy foods, and a secret word. What is his secret word? 2. Humans are creatures of habit. Some things we really like, and some things we can’t stand (mushrooms – ewwww!). Therefore, you should start to see some patterns in your eating habits after a few days. Maybe you eat cereal everyday for breakfast, or you have to have a burrito at brunch at least twice a week. Whatever foods you eat, pick 2 that are some you eat most often. Go to http://www.nutritiondata.com/ and use their database to find the total calories as well as calories from carbohydrates, fat, and protein for each of your 2 foods. Be sure you check the serving size at the top of the page (change it if it isn’t correct) before you record your nutritional information. Print a Food Analysis worksheet for you to log your nutritional information in. You may also want to print your findings to see what vitamins and minerals are in your foods. 3. Now that you know how to analyze individual foods, we’re going to look at a bunch of foods together. Time to break out the favorite family recipes! Think of your favorite meal at home…what’s in it? Bring a copy of the recipe to school, print out the recipe analysis worksheet, and revisit http://www.nutritiondata.com/ in order to analyze the different foods that go into your family recipe. Once you have done that, go to the Healthy Substitutions List and see if there are any foods you can change in the recipe. If there aren’t any listed, get creative! What could you replace hamburger with? What could you use instead of canned peaches in heavy syrup? Have you ever thought about cooking with oat-bran instead of flour? Revise your family recipe and revise the nutritional analysis that goes with it. Did it get any healthier? 4. We all love fast foods every now and then. Some of us would like to eat them everyday! But is this good for our bodies? Can fast be healthy? Working with a partner, you will each pick out your favorite fast-food menu item. When you have chosen what your favorite fast-food item is, head to http://www.fatcalories.com/ and look for the nutrition information about your food. If you can’t find your favorite fast-food item there, pick one that is similar for analysis. For example, if you love burritos from the local taqueria, check out the nutrition information for a burrito at Taco Bell. Now that you and a partner have researched and recorded information about your 2 favorite fast-foods (scary, isn’t it!), it’s time to look for a healthy alternative. Try to think of a fast-food restaurant that you think might have a healthy alternative (for example a salad instead of a burger). Check out their menus and look for a replacement item. Record the nutrition information for that one. You and your partner are almost ready to present your findings to the class! 5. So you’ve learned about foods. But why do people always talk about exercise? Why is it important to get moving? Go to http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/Pubs/Brochures/GetMoving_print.pdf and find out (1) what is physical activity, (2) why is moving important, and (3) how much exercise should you get, and how often. Work with a partner and prepare your findings in a word-processed document answering the three above questions to be turned in with your project folder. 6. OK, so not all foods are good for you. Also, we now know that we probably should exercise periodically in order to stay healthy. What happens if we don’t eat healthy and exercise? What happens if we just sit in front of the TV and eat whatever we want? Well, studies have shown that people who don’t eat well and who aren’t active are at risk for many diseases that can cripple or even kill them! Go online and see the short list of the most common diseases related to being overweight, at MedicineNet.com. Working in teams of 2-3 people, pick one of the diseases listed to read about and prepare a short summary to present in a 5-7 minute presentation to the class. You should be able to explain what the disease is, what causes it, and any ways that are known to prevent it. Use this Disease Notes Template to help you organize your research. |
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Resources: |
All resources, websites, etc. are embedded throughout the WebQuest. If you are looking for a specific link, go to the activity you are working on and search the activity’s description for the active link. |
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Evaluation: |
Final outcomes:
A rubric will be provided to help guide you in making good choices! |
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Teacher notes: |
Standards covered: • Physical education standard, grade 7: – Standard 3: The student will achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical fitness. Students who meet this standard will be able to identify the impact of such factors as nutrition on the body’s ability to participate in physical activity. • Technology standards: – Standard 3: Technology productivity tools • Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity – Standard 5: Technology research tools • Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources Other related teacher resources: www.nationaleatingdisorders.org www.healthychoices.org (includes classroom curriculum) www.intel.com/education/unitplans/food/food.htm http://www.nal.usda.gov/ttic/nalsci/becky/fandn.htm |