Nutrition, diet, and exercise for health & wellness
(middle grades)
Activity and Lesson plan

Overview

A plan to review and facilitate a deeper understanding of nutrition. How past experiences, advertising, history, family, and personal preferences influence the decisions we make with respect to health and wellness. Influences that consciously and subconsciously affect decisions we make without sufficient critical thinking to make healthy decisions and avoid detrimental decisions for our physical, mental/ emotional, and social health.

This unit includes activities for students to understand nutrients affects on diet, set healthy nutritional goals, kinds of nutrients, history of the discovery of five vitamins, conduct a food or nutrient lab, set goals and develop a plan for physical health, review crosswords, and overall review.

In addition and more specifically students will learn vitamins were not known until about 1910 and it was a slow scientific process used to discover their importance for good health and eating a healthy diet. It was in the mid 1930's that the first vitamin supplement was created and sold. Before that vitamins were obtained only in the food people ate.

Background information:

This plan is designed for middle level students who have prior knowledge in the Dimensions of health, Decision making, Mental & emotional health, and Social health & relationships.

Unit: Big ideas, concepts and outcomes (Integrates standards)

Health standards

Big ideas and outcomes:

  • Standard 1 - comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.
  • Standard 2 - analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors.
  • Standard 3 - demonstrate the ability to access valid information and products and services to enhance health.
  • Standard 4 - demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.
  • Standard 5 - demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance health.
  • Standard 6 - demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting skills to enhance health.
  • Standard 7 - demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce risks.
  • Standard 8 - demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health.

Unit: History of Nutrients concepts

Big idea: Nutrients are an important part of a nutritious and healthy diet and it is only recently humans have known about them and how they support healthy lives. It is important to understand how information about nutrients accumulate over years to be able to analyze influences, gather valid information, communicate about it, and make decisions to set and implement nutritious health enhancing goals and avoid and reduce risks.

Health benefits can be achieved as a result of people's collective scientific investigation. Investigations where people are curious about their observations and experiment to isolate variables to connect a cause to an effect. Information to guide further investigation that resulted in more evidence to create scientific verifiable explanations and models that have predictive usefulness.

  • In the history of humans it is only recently that we have known that vitamins are essential to support healthy lives.
  • Decisions are made on past experiences (history).
  • All ideas have a history that can be long or short.
  • Good nutrition requires a balanced diet to include sufficient vitamins.
  • Science is the process of using verifiable observation to create predictable explanations.
    • Health problems can be observed.
    • Observations can be associated to events.
    • Observation of changes can be used to infer cause and effect to create explanations.
    • Scientists observe body conditions and infer if a foreign object, from the environment (germs, bacteria, food eaten, water), is introduced into the body it can cause change.
    • Variables that effect an event can be labeled as causes of the event.
    • When a cause and effect is associated with a variable, a controlled experiment can be set up to see if the identified variable will have the same effect in a controlled experiment, or is repeatable.
    • When a cause and effect is identified, it can suggest an explanation, but it usually is only part of an explanation or model. It may describe something is necessary, but maybe not sufficient.
    • Explanations can lead to models that explain why.

Unit: Outcomes

Use accurate verifiable information to consider healthy choices and influences when making decisions related to vitamins and nutrition.

Describe scientific investigations as based on observations that identify variables that link verifiable cause and effect that lead to predictive explanations and models as to why events happen.

  • Describe how scientists used observations of a health problem to relate causes of poor health and good health to nutrition and diet.
  • Describe how lack of certain kinds of food in a diet were identified as variables and linked to health issues with a cause and effect that lead to an explanation and model.
    • Rickets was associated to diet and different foods became variables used to investigate cause and effects and find the lack of milk related to rickets. This eventually led to the discovery of vitamin D and a generalizable explanation and development of a model for the cause of rickets.
    • Same for; Vitamin A & eye health, Vitamin B1 & beriberi, Vitamin C & scurvy, Vitamin B & pellagra.
  • Describe the importance of nutrients for health and wellness.
  • Describe specific consequences of not enough nutrients in a diet. Fat, carbohydrates, sugar, starch, protein for energy. Fats to build and regulate cells, Protein to build and repair cells. Water for hydration, Minerals for cell growth and repair. Vitamin A & eye health, Vitamin B1 & beriberi, Vitamin D & rickets, Vitamin C & scurvy, Vitamin B & pellagra.

Understand health (Standard 1)

Big ideas: Understanding the effects nutrition and physical activity have on the human body that enables us to individually or in collaboration with others improve peoples' quality of life.

Related concepts and facts

  • The more a person knows about them self as an individual, human anatomy, and how human bodies interact with the environment, the better decisions they will make.
  • Nutrients are essential to support healthy lives.
  • The body needs sufficient nutrients to maintain its health and growth.
  • Nutrients include: Energy, Protein, Carbohydrates, sugar, starch, Fats, Vitamins, Water, & Minerals.
  • Health problems can be related to diet and nutrition.
  • When a diet is changed in certain ways it causes specific effects on health.
  • Some diseases are related to and even caused by poor nutrition.
  • Physical activity affects health and wellness.

Outcome

  1. Describe the relationship of various amounts of nutrients in a diet on health.
  2. Describe specific consequences of not enough nutrients in a diet. Fat, carbohydrates, sugar, starch, protein for energy. Fats to build and regulate cells, Protein to build and repair cells. Water for hydration, Minerals for cell growth and repair. Vitamin A & eye health, Vitamin B1 & beriberi, Vitamin D & rickets, Vitamin C & scurvy, Vitamin B & pellagra.
  3. Describe the process of how different nutrients interact with different body systems, tissues, and cells that result in healthy and unhealthy consequences of their use.
  4. Describe a physical activity plan that will provide and maintain good health.

Specific outcomes -

Comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.

1.12.1 Predict how healthy behaviors can impact health status.
1.12.2 Describe the interrelationships of emotional, intellectual, physical, and social health with respect to medicine and drug use.
1.12.3 Analyze how environmental (social & physical effects) and personal health are interrelated.
1.12.4 Analyze how genetics and family history can impact personal health.
1.12.5 Propose ways to reduce or prevent injuries and health problems.
1.12.6 Analyze the relationship between access to health care and health status.
1.12.7 Compare and contrast the benefits of and barriers to practicing a variety of healthy behaviors as related to medicine and drug use.
1.12.8 Analyze personal susceptibility to injury, illness, or death if engaging in unhealthy behaviors related to medicine and drug use.
1.12.9 Analyze the potential severity of injury or illness if engaging in unhealthy behaviors.

Making and implementing healthy decision. (Standards 2-8)

Big ideas:

It is important to know how to discover accurate verifiable information about nutrition and physical activity to make good healthy decisions. Decision-making skills are necessary to identify, implement, and sustain health-enhancing behaviors. This includes essential steps needed to make healthy decisions applied to health, safety, and social issues to enable people to individually or in collaboration with others to improve people's quality of life.

Related concepts and facts

  • Health and safety problems are related to decision making.
  • The better a person knows them self, the better decisions they will make.
  • Effective social skills improve communication and getting along with people.
  • Thinking about a problem before experiencing it helps make better decisions.
  • There are positive and negative consequences for all decisions.
  • There are positive and negative influences to consider when making decisions.
  • Better decisions are made with accurate information about how the body works and how different vitamins interact with it in positive and negative ways.
  • People make better decisions when they consider influences and consequences in their decision making process.
  • Health is a process that develops over time and is aided or hindered by the quality of information, influence, valid information, communication skill, decision making skill, goals, behavior and advocacy.
  • Studying about the discovery of vitamins can show how health has been practiced through the course of time or history.
  • Sometimes when people make discoveries they share their results.
  • Some results are more widely shared than others.
  • The range of sharing helps or hampers the communication of ideas.

Outcome

  1. Describe the relationships between making good decisions and being healthy.
  2. Describe a decision making process that includes identification of a problem, alternative solutions with positive and negative consequences, and implementation suggestions.
  3. Describe positive and negative influences that impact decision making.
  4. Use a decision making process to make safe and healthy decisions that improve people's quality of life.
  5. Describe health as based on a history of discoveries.
  6. Describe how health collectively and over time used observations to related unhealthy situations as being caused by lack of nutrients, nutrition, and vitamins.
  7. Describe examples of how communication was beneficial and not beneficial.
  8. Describe how it took years to link ideas related to health and sickness to nutrients, nutrition, vitamins.

Specific outcomes - (Standards 2-8)

Analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors.

2.12.1 Analyze how family influences the health of individuals.
2.12.2 Analyze how culture supports and challenges health beliefs, practices, and behaviors.
2.12.3 Analyze how peers influence healthy and unhealthy behaviors.
2.12.4 Evaluate how the school and community can impact personal health practice and behaviors.
2.12.5 Evaluate the effect of media on personal and family health.
2.12.6 Evaluate the impact of technology on personal, family, and community health.
2.12.7 Analyze how the perceptions of norms influence healthy and unhealthy behaviors.
2.12.8 Analyze the influence of personal values and beliefs on individual health practices and behaviors.
2.12.9 Analyze how some health risk behaviors can influence the likelihood of engaging in unhealthy behaviors.
2.12.10 Analyze how public health policies and government regulations can influence health promotion and disease prevention

Find valid information, products, and services to enhance health.

3.12.1 Evaluate the validity of health information, products, and services.
3.12.2 Utilize resources from home, school, and community that provide valid health information.
3.12.3 Determine the accessibility of products and services that enhance health.
3.12.4 Determine when professional health services may be required.
3.12.5 Access valid and reliable health products and services.

Use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.

4.12.1 Utilize skills for communicating effectively with family, peers, and others to enhance health.
4.12.2 Demonstrate refusal, negotiation, and collaboration skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.
4.12.3 Demonstrate strategies to prevent, manage, or resolve interpersonal conflicts without harming self or others.
4.12.4 Demonstrate how to ask for and offer assistance to enhance the health of self and others.

Use decision-making skills to enhance health.

5.12.1 Examine barriers that can hinder healthy decision making.
5.12.2 Determine the value of applying a thoughtful decision-making process in health-related situations.
5.12.3 Justify when individual or collaborative decision making is appropriate.
5.12.4 Generate alternatives to health-related issues or problems.
5.12.5 Predict the potential short and long term impact of each alternative on self and others.
5.12.6 Defend the healthy choice when making decisions.
5.12.7 Evaluate the effectiveness of health related decisions.

5.12.7 Evaluate the effectiveness of health related decisions.

Set goals to enhance health.

6.12.1 Assess personal health practices and overall health status.
6.12.2 Develop a plan to attain a personal health goal that addresses strengths, needs, and risks.
6.12.3 Implement strategies and monitor progress in achieving a personal health goal.
6.12.4 Formulate an effective long-term personal health plan.

Practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce risks.

7.12.1 Analyze the role of individual responsibility for enhancing health.
7.12.2 Demonstrate a variety of healthy practices and behaviors that will maintain or improve the health of self and others.
7.12.3 Demonstrate a variety of behaviors to avoid or reduce health risks to self and others.

Advocate for personal, family, and community health.

8.12.1 Utilize accurate peer and societal norms to formulate a health-enhancing message.
8.12.2 Demonstrate how to inf pence and support others to make positive health choices.
8.12.3 Work cooperatively as an advocate for improving personal, family, and community health.
8..4 Adap12t health messages and communication techniques to a specific target audience.

Pedagogical Overview

Activities Sequence to provide sufficient opportunities for students to achieve the targeted outcomes.

Focus question

Unit focus question:

Who discovered or invented vitamins?

Sub focus questions:

  1. What affects the choices a person makes on what they eat?
  2. How do companies advertise their product to influence what we eat?
  3. What nutritional goals can I set for good health?
  4. How do nutrients affect good health?
  5. What does each nutrient do for the body? (protein, sugar, carbs, vitamins, minerals, water)
  6. What kinds of foods are rich in each of the nutrients?
  7. When do you think people discovered vitamins?
  8. Why was it important for people to discover vitamins?
  9. What was the process for discovering vitamins?
  10. What are vitamins?
  11. Who discovered vitamins?
  12. How do they affect our health today?
  13. What kinds of investigations can you do to learn more about nutrients?
  14. What goals do you want to set for your physical health and well being?
  15. What plan will help achieve your goals?
  16. What do you remember about nutrition and physical health?

Resources and Materials

The great vitamin mystery. by Martin, M. (1974). National Dairy Council

Lab notes

  1. What influences affects a person's diet choices? - Lab notes - activity 1
  2. Nutritional and diet goals for good health - Lab notes - Activity 2
  3. What do I know about nutrients related to good health? - Lab notes - Activity 3
  4. What do I know about vitamins today? - Lab notes - Activity 4
  5. Vitamin in a day - Lab notes - Activity 5
  6. How were vitamins discovered? - Lab notes - Activity 6
  7. Lab summary - Lab notes - Activity 7
  8. Physical activity goals and plan - Lab notes - Activity 8
  9. Review - Lab notes - Activity 9
    1. Crossword puzzle
    2. Nutrition review

Fact sheets

References

Scoring guides suggestions (rubric)

Decision making skills to enhance health (scoring guide)

Top level

  • Top level: Describes nutrients as necessary for healthy lives and can identify six nutrients, their functions, and positive and negative impacts they have on health.
    • Describes six or more influences that affect a person's diet and nutritional choices.
    • Describes the scientific process of observation and experimentation used to discovery what we know about nutrients, nutrition, and vitamins.
    • Conducts and reports a food related lab
    • Creates a plan to achieve fitness goals
  • Upper level: Describes nutrients as necessary for healthy lives and can identify six or more and the positive and negative impacts they have on health. Describes how humans discovered vitamins and isolated them from certain foods to use that information to have positive effects on health. Conducts and reports on a food related lab. Creates a plan to achieve fitness goals.
  • Middle level: Describes nutrients as necessary for healthy lives and can identify four or more and the positive and negative impacts they have on health. Describes how humans discovered vitamins and isolated them from certain foods to use that information to have positive effects on health. Conducts and reports on a food related lab. Creates a plan to achieve fitness goals.
  • Low level: Describes nutrients as necessary for healthy lives and can identify less than four with the positive and negative impacts they have on health. Describes humans discovered vitamins and certain foods have positive effects on health. Conducts and reports on a food related lab. Creates a plan to achieve fitness goals.

Lower level

The rubric was created based on the Healthy Practices Skills and Outcomes for a middle level health course, which were heavily influenced by the national health standards.

 

Lesson Plans

What influences affect a person's diet and nutritional choices? (Activity 1)

Materials:

Focus questions:

  1. What affects the choices a person makes on what they eat?
  2. How do companies advertise their product to influence what we eat?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Identify influences that affect a person's diet and nutritional choices.
  2. Identify how companies advertise their products to influence how we spend our money.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Identify examples of influences that affect what people eat.
  3. Review different ads and describe the meal and environment and the positive and negative influences.
  4. Describe a social eating situation and possible positive and negative effects.

Scoring guide for

Top level

  1. Identifies eight influences on diet choices, describes the purpose of advertising as to sell food to make the restaurant profitable, and describes eating as a social event with multiple positive and multiple negative effects.
  2. Identifies less than eight influences on diet choices, describes a purpose of advertising as to sell food, and describes an eating scene with both positive and negative effects.

Lower level

Exploration:

  1. Put students in pairs or groups of three.
  2. Give students the What influences a person's diet- lab note page and ask them to write their ideas for the focus questions.
    1. What affects the choices a person makes on what they eat?
    2. How do companies advertise their product to influence what we eat?
  3. Share answers, but do not comment on them until invention.

Invention

  1. Give students the Affects on a person's diet and nutritional choices fact sheet and have them review their answers to the focus question:
    • What affects the choices a person makes on what they eat? media, friends, family, eat what is served, not knowing how to cook, more is better, cheap is a better value, faster is better, healthy is more expensive, school lunches can't be fresh and nutritious, limited by what can purchase locally.
    • Compare students list and have them edit their list as desired to include any of the following not represented.
    • Then ask and have them write examples for each.
      • Advertising - any commercial or package
      • Education - learning that vegetables are healthy and why
      • Family - people generally eat what is available at home
      • Culture - type of food available in community in grocery stores, restaurants, and different ethnic foods among different populations
      • Peers - share food with peers, see what they like and may try different foods and learn to like different foods
      • Time - generally what people eat in the morning is different than later in the day and vice versa.
      • Economic conditions or Money - what people eat is often related to the amount of money the have available.
      • Government - decide on subsidies for foods: corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, sorghum, milk and meat. Which are not unhealthy alone, but are used to create cheap and plentiful junk food. Foods that are shipped across national borders are subject to tariffs, taxes, and regulations.
  2. Briefly, review student answers to the questions: How do companies advertise their product to influence what we eat? Accept any reasonable answer.
  3. Share the video (3:34) - Fast food ads and reality and have students comment on their lab notes. Could comparison the actual fast food and what it looks like in an Ad.
  4. Share the video (2:58) How to make a fast food Commercial display that shows and explains the tricks a food artist uses to make fast food look good for commercials and have students comment on their lab notes. Food artist for ads.
  5. Discuss students reactions to the food advertising and ask students to summarize their ideas. Companies advertise to sell food and make a profit. Different restaurants will use different strategies. Some will use good nutrition and health foods and others will sell foods that may taste and look good, but not be healthy to sell their products.
  6. Tell. Students they can select a picture from home of them and others sharing a dining experience or from an ad with a dining experience.
    Selection samples: Applebee's TV Ads, Sample photos.
  7. When students have their picture have them write in their lab notes their analysis on the imagined dining situation by describing the situation or attaching a picture and the positive and negative influences that affect where people eat, what they eat, and how they feel about the experience.
    • Short description of meal and environment. Varies by what student selected.
    • Affects as positive and negative influences for where, what, & how. Varies by what student selected. Accept any reasonable answers.

 

 

Nutrition and diet goals for good health? (Activity 2)

Materials:

Focus questions:

  1. What are nutrients?
  2. What nutritional goal(s) can I set for good health?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Describe a nutrient and list examples.
  2. Write nutritional goal(s) for good health.
  3. Describe how a good nutrition provides and maintains health in three health categories.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Define nutrient and list examples of nutrients.
  3. Describe how to use MyPlate to balance nutrients in a diet.
  4. Write examples of how nutrition affects social, physical, and mental / emotional health and well being.

Scoring guide for

Top level

  1. Defines nutrients, identify eight nutrients, and writes a general goal for good nutrition that uses a plan like MyPlate to achieve a balanced nutritious diet and describes how nutrition is necessary for good health in three areas of health: physical, mental / emotional, and social.
  2. Define nutrients, identify less than eight nutrients and writes a general goal for good nutrition. Makes a general statement like eat well [that doesn't specify how to achieve a balanced nutritious diet like visualize MyPlate] and says nutrition is necessary for good health.

Lower level

Exploration:

  1. Put students in pairs or groups of three.
  2. Give students the Nutrition and goals - lab notes and ask them to write their ideas for the focus questions.
  3. Ask. What are nutrients? Accept all answers and refrain from providing information till the Invention.
  4. Ask. What nutritional goals can I set for good health? Accept all answers and refrain from providing information till the Invention.

Invention

  1. If students didn't find a definition for nutrients, then have them reference the word bank and have them compare their response for nutrients and edit it as necessary.
    Nutrients are substances that provide nourishment essential for growth and the maintenance of life. Nutrients include: proteins, carbohydrates, sugar, starch, fats, vitamins, water, & minerals. Write that on your lab notes.
  2. Ask. How does the nutritional goal(s) you wrote fit with the definition of nutrients and the necessary nutrients?
  3. MyPlateHave students compare their definition to their goal(s) and see if the goal includes all the nutrients: proteins, carbohydrates, sugar, starch, fats, vitamins, water, & minerals. They could color code or draw lines to show how each nutrient matches to their goal(s). If they wrote something like "...eat a good diet" or "...eat well", then have them edit it to add detail that identifies nutrients (protein, sugar, fats, ...) and mentions " ... to meet recommended amounts ... or daily requirements" and 8 cups of water daily. If they use MyPlate, draw lines from nutrients to label on MyPlate sections.
    • I will balance my meals using MyPlate as a guide, drink 8 glasses of water daily, and if I don't balance my diet take a vitamin and mineral supplement as recommended by a physician.
  4. Tell. In your group identify and write examples of how nutrition relates to the three categories of health and well being.
    After appropriate amount of time, discuss ideas and have students include ideas like the ideas below:
    • Social health - A person needs to eat and drink fluids that provide sufficient nutrients to be able to meet personal needs and be able to help others meet their needs. Good nutrition helps me respect myself, communicate better with others, learn social skills, be assertive when appropriate, and have better relationships with family and others. See Relationships Unit.
    • Physical health - A person needs to eat to provide sufficient nutrients to enable them to go about a healthy morning and afternoon routine and not be physically exhausted to participate in later day and night activities. Adults are able to work and have energy left to engage in and enjoy their after work activities. Eat or provide sufficient nutrients to be able to walk / run two miles each day. Weight exercise three times a week. Eat well, sleep 8 hours, drink 8 glasses of water daily, engage in physical activities such as dance, ___ball, ... See Physical Fitness plan
    • Mental / emotional health - A person who eats sufficient nutrients and fluids is able to monitor their emotional state and adjust their feelings to set and achieve appropriate goals, use stress management, exercise, manage fear, guilt, anger, refusal skills, anxiety, & depression. ... See Mental emotional health unit.

 

What do I know about how nutrients relate to good health? (Activity 3)

Materials:

Focus questions:

  1. How do nutrients affect good health?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Describe how a good nutrients are provide and maintain good health.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Describe how nutrients affect health benefits.
  3. Create a report on one of the nutrient topics: Energy, Protein, Carbohydrates, Sugar, Starch, Fats Vitamins, Water, Minerals.
  4. Listen and take notes on reports on nutrient topics: Energy, Protein, Carbohydrates, Sugar, Starch, Fats Vitamins, Water, Minerals.

Scoring guide for

Top level

  1. Investigate on a nutrient and present to the class its main purposes, possible food sources, and the benefits and risks it can have on health. Record and recall information for each of eight nutrients that include the main purposes of each, possible food sources, and the benefits and risks each have on health.
  2. Investigate on a nutrient and present to the class some of the following information: its main purposes, possible food sources, and the benefits and risks it can have on health. Record and recall information for some of the eight nutrients that include the main purposes of each, possible food sources, and the benefits and risks each have on health.

Lower level

Exploration:

  1. Put students in pairs or groups of three.
  2. Tell. You have looked at different influences for eating different food products, identified goals for eating healthy, and described how food and nutrients are important for the three areas of good health. NOW, you are going to investigate how nutrients provide healthy benefits.
  3. Give students the Nutrition and diet - lab notes and ask them to write their ideas for the focus question.
  4. Ask. What do you know about how nutrients affect good health? Accept all answers and refrain from providing information till the Invention.

Invention

  1. Give each student access to or a copy of the Nutrients informational packet and begin to review the information with them.
  2. Read the quote in the box on the first page.
  3. Discuss. Move toward the following ideas, but don't worry too much as more detail will be added in the introduction. The Physical aspects of what we are is always changing. That is what it means to be alive and grow and why nutrition is essential for the healthy replacement of the cells that make up all of our bodies.
  4. Read the introduction and discuss with students. Focus on the difference between a physical machine and living organism. A machine can NOT heal itself. When it wears out, it is done. Its parts or the entire machine needs to be replaced. To be alive and grow means having the ability to replace cells. This is why nutrition is essential for the healthy replacement of cells which make up everything in all living organisms.
  5. Tell. They will select or be assigned a nutrient to create a report to teach the class or their group. Class group presentation or jigsaw approach.
  6. Determine how to group students and what topics you want them to investigate. Suggested division - seven groups. Note that four vitamins (A, C, D, B1 & B3) are included in the history of vitamins later in the unit.
    • Energy
    • Protein,
    • Carbohydrates, sugar, starch
    • Fats
    • Vitamins
    • Water
    • Minerals
  7. Group students, assign each group a topic and review expectations for what each group should prepare to report. A report that includes a description of the nutrient, what it does, and what foods provide that nutrient in large numbers.
  8. Give groups time to prepare their report.
  9. Have groups share data.
  10. Answer questions and add additional information as necessary.

 

What do I know about vitamins? (Activity 4)

Materials:

Learning outcomes:

  1. Complete questions about vitamins (pretest).

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Answer questions about vitamins as a pretest.

Scoring guide for

Top level

  1. Complete five questions in lab notes about vitamins.
  2. Complete less than five questions in lab notes about vitamins.

Lower level

Exploration: Vitamins and daily intake

  1. Put students in pairs or small groups.
  2. Give students the lab notes page for the activity and have them answer the questions.
  3. Share answers and accept all responses.

Invention

  1. What vitamins did you list in a minute? Possible -
    Vitamin A, Vitamin B1 or Thiamin, Vitamin B2 or Riboflavin, Vitamin B3 or Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B9 or (Folic Acid, folacin, folate), Vitamin B12, Vitamin C or ascorbic acid, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Pantothenic acid, Biotin, & Choline
  2. When do you think people learned about vitamins? (What year or decade?) 1911-1930.
  3. How do you think people found out about vitamins? Scientific study, chemical analysis, trying different foods to see how they affected health (different diseases).
  4. Name a vitamin and two foods that have high levels of the vitamin. Vitamin C, oranges, lemons,
  5. Name a vitamin and two foods that have high levels of the vitamin. Vitamin D, milk, cheese,

 

Vitamin in a day (Activity 5)

Materials:

Access to electronic databases for vitamin percentages OR Food labels from foods eaten or charts.

  • Nutrition value .org- Sample labels with comprehensive list of nutrients, vitamins, and a meal calculator.
  • Self-Nutrition - Enter food name or search category for comprehensive list of nutrients, vitamins ... Need to join to track personal nutritional information. Nutrient balance, protein quality chart ...

Focus questions:

  1. What are vitamins?
  2. How do they affect health?
  3. Do the foods you eat provide the daily requirement of vitamins?
  4. What conclusions can you make?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Identify the percentage of the daily requirement for one vitamin in a daily diet.
  2. Make a conclusion about your daily vitamin intake.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions 1-3.
  2. Select a vitamin.
  3. List the foods eaten for a day.
  4. Research and record the amount of the selected vitamin in each food eaten and record it on the 100% chart.
  5. Make a conclusion about your diet meeting your daily vitamin needs.

Scoring guide for

Top level

  1. List food eaten in a day, record the amount of vitamins for each, record the total in the 100% chart, and write a conclusion about the amount of vitamins in their diet.
  2. Incomplete list of food eaten in a day, or record of the amount of vitamins for each, or the total in the 100% chart, or the written conclusion about the amount of vitamins in their diet.

Lower level

Exploration: Vitamins and daily intake

  1. Put students in pairs or small groups.
  2. Give students the How much vitamin in a day - lab note.
  3. Review. What are vitamins? Vitamins are a group of organic substances needed for normal cell growth and development.
  4. Review. How do they affect our health? They are needed in small amounts for the body to work well and can not be synthesized by the body. There are 13 vitamins that most people recognize. Four fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, & K) and nine water-soluble.
  5. Ask. Do the foods you eat provide the daily requirement of vitamins? Accept any reasonable answer.
  6. Lead the discussion to the conclusion they might be able to tell if they are getting an appropriate amount of vitamins for a healthy diet by comparing what they eat to information for recommended daily allowances found in food charts.
  7. Have each student
    1. Select a vitamin to determine if you had the recommended 100% yesterday in your diet.
    2. List all the foods eaten in a day.
    3. Use food labels or a database that has the percentage of the vitamin you are targeting.
      • Nutrition value .org - Sample labels with comprehensive list of nutrients, vitamins, and a meal calculator.
      • Self-Nutrition - Enter food name or search category for comprehensive list of nutrients, vitamins ... Need to join to track personal nutritional information. Nutrient balance, protein quality chart ...
  8. When the information is recorded move to Invention.

Invention

  1. Ask. What vitamin they charted and the percentage they determined.
  2. Ask. Did the diet for that day provide for the vitamin?
  3. Could briefly - list all vitamins the students charted on the board and have each student put a plus or minus beside their vitamin so everyone can see which vitamins, if any, were most and least likely to be provided for in their diets.
  4. Explain one day probably doesn't provide an accurate representation and They could bet a more accurate understanding if they would track what they eat for a longer amount of time.
  5. Tell. If they would you like to do this, they could use one of the databases, (with parental approval of internet use).

Discovery

  1. Have students write a goal related to their vitamin intake.
  2. Transition to history of vitamins ...
  3. Ask. How did we, as humans, learn about vitamins? Accept all reasonable answers, start next activity.

 

How were vitamins discovered? (Activity 6)

Materials:

Focus questions:

  1. Who discovered vitamins?
  2. When do you think people discovered vitamins?
  3. Why was the discovery of vitamins important?
  4. What was the process for discovering vitamins?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Explain how vitamins were discovered.
  2. Describe the discovery story of five different vitamins.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Select one of five vitamins and research its discovery story.
  3. Take notes for four of the five vitamin stories.
  4. Write a conclusion on how science was used to discover vitamins and their role for health and well being.

Decision making skills to enhance health (scoring guide)

Top level

  • Top level: Describes vitamins as necessary for healthy lives.
    • Identifies three or more positive and negative impacts vitamins have on health.
    • Describes the scientific process of observation and experimentation used to discovery vitamins.
    • Describes that certain foods can cause or prevent disease, vitamins in those foods are responsible, and identifies three different examples of vitamins related to disease: Vitamin D rickets, Vitamin A night blindness & eye health, Vitamin B1 beriberi, Vitamin C scurvy, Vitamin B pellagra.
  • Upper level: Describes vitamins as necessary for healthy lives.
    • Identifies three or more positive and negative impacts vitamins have on health.
    • Describes a scientific process as being used to discovery vitamins.
    • Describes that certain foods can cause or prevent disease and vitamins in those foods are responsible.
  • Middle level: Describes vitamins as necessary for healthy lives and can identify three or more and the positive impact they have on health. For example: vitamin D strong bones, vitamin C fights infection, ...
  • Low level: Describes vitamins as necessary for healthy lives.

Lower level

Exploration

  1. Put students in groups. There are five stories so may want to have 5 or 10 groups depending on class size.
  2. Give students the Vitamin history - lab notes page
  3. Tell. Write answers to the focus questions :
    • Who discovered vitamins?
    • When do you think people discovered vitamins?
    • Why was it important for people to discover vitamins?
    • What was the process for discovering vitamins?
  1. Tell students that people haven't always known about vitamins. Therefore, the didn't know that a lack of a particular vitamin might cause serious consequences. In fact before the mid 1930's no one knew vitamins existed.
  2. Ask. Do you think I made that up to see if they were listening, or if it is actually true.
  3. Ask. Does any one know about the origin of vitamins or how vitamins were discovered?
  4. Explain to the class that today they are going to look into the history of 5 different vitamins and how they were discovered.
  5. Divide the class into at least five groups.
  6. Assign each group a different vitamin to research.
  7. Review the suggestions on the History of Vitamins Lab notes for preparing their report on the history of their vitamin discovery.
  8. Students research and write the history of their particular vitamin. May want each group to write responses to the questions so everyone can see them.
  9. Check periodically with the students to review the answers they writing for their vitamin.

Invention

  1. Bring students together as a class.
  2. Have students briefly explain the history of their vitamin that includes answers to the questions in the lab notes. May want each group to write responses to the questions so everyone can see them.
  3. Allow each group to share.
  4. Have the class summarize the importance of how what we understand today is related to what people have known in the past and how they have learned it.
  5. Discuss the idea that many things are created and invented years before our time and things continue to change, scientists find new and more interesting information about certain things and they evolve into bigger and better ideas or understanding.

Discovery

Focus question - What are other discoveries that have the same kind of pattern as what was discovered in about the discovery of vitamins?

 

 

Lab summary (Activity 7)

Materials:

  • Food investigations may want to review the investigations and limit student choices depending on materials available. Some involve burning food so restrictions need to be reviewed.
  • Lab summary lab notes

Focus questions:

  1. What kinds of investigations can you do to learn more about nutrients?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Complete a food / nutrient investigation, write a summary, and present it to the class.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.

Scoring guide for

Top level

  1. Select a food investigation, conduct the investigation, collect results, and report them to the class that includes all five areas listed in the lab notes. Takes notes or comments on some of classmates reports.
  2. Select a food investigation, conduct the investigation, collect results, and report them to the class that includes less than five areas listed in the lab notes. Listens to classmates reports.

Lower level

Exploration

  1. Tell. Like the scientists that experimented and discovered information about vitamins you are going to do an investigation of your own.
  2. Give or provide access to the food investigation activities: calcium & bones, starch test, milk separation, protein search, mineral find, fat find, eggs & protein, measuring acid, measuring sugar, measuring food energy and measuring vitamin c.
  3. Tell. You are going to conduct and describe an investigation about nutrients or food.
  4. Select and conduct one of the investigations from the food investigation activities:
  5. Follow the directions and complete the Lab summary in the lab notes.

Invention

  1. Put students into groups by the investigation they completed.
  2. Tell. Each group share their lab notes and prepare one summary for the class to report. Include:
    1. Investigation I selected  
    2. What I did
    3. Summary of discovery
    4. What I learned
    5. What I would like to know more about...

 

Physical activity goals and plan for good health (Activity 8)

Materials:

Focus questions:

  1. What goals do you want to set for your physical health and well being?
  2. What plan will help achieve your goals?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Describe a physical activity plan that will provide and maintain good health.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Review students goals for physical health in activity 2
  3. Review fact sheet on physical activity and health
  4. Write or rewrite goals
  5. Write a physical exercise plan

Scoring guide for

Top level

  1. Write a goal for physical activity includes: multiple kinds of exercise (aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise ...) and a plan that includes different types of exercise to achieve the goals with personalized details of types of exercise, schedule, time, place ...

Lower level

Exploration

  1. Tell. In your nutritional and diet goals for health and well being you wrote a goal or goals that related to physical health, activity 2. Now you will take the goal(s) and write a plan to achieve those goals.
  2. Review Physical activity and health - fact sheet with key ideas, kinds of exercise, and considerations for a personal activity plan.
  3. Have students complete their Physical activity goals and plan for good health - lab note, Activity 8.
  4. What goals do you want to set for your physical health and well being?
  5. What plan will help achieve your goals?

Invention

  1. Copy or revise and write Physical activity goals.
  2. Write Physical activity plan
  3. Share goals and plans.

 

Review (Activity 9)

Materials:

Focus questions:

  1. What do you remember about nutrition and physical health?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Complete crossword puzzle.
  2. Complete review sheets.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Provide them with review sheets.
  3. Let them complete reviews.
  4. Review, question, and respond as necessary.

Scoring guide for

Top level

  1. Initially completes the crossword puzzles and review sheet with an honest attempt to complete all accurately, then corrects any inaccuracies for 100% accuracy when review in class.
  2. Initial attempts are more than 20% incomplete or inaccurate or final work is less than 90% accurate.

Lower level

Exploration

  1. Provide students with crossword puzzle sheets and Nutrition review sheets.
  2. Tell. Work in groups to complete the crossword puzzle sheets and Nutrition review sheets.
  3. When completed, review student answers and let them edit their work.
  4. Answer all questions and review as necessary.

 

Lab Notes for activities

What influences affect a person's diet choices? (Activity 1)

Purpose - Review influences that affect a person's diet and nutritional choices and how companies advertise their products to influence the choices we make.

Directions - Read and complete the questions and activities below.

What affects the choices a person makes on what they eat?

 

 

How do companies advertise their product to influence what we eat?

 


Watch the video, Fast food ads and reality, and write your reaction to food ads.

 

 

Watch the video, How to make a fast food display, and write your reactions.

 

 

Select a picture from home, a video, or other image of a dining experience.
Selection samples: Applebee's TV Ads, Sample 1, Sample 2, Sample 3.

Analyze the effects of the imagined dining situation by including a short description and the effects as positive and negative influences that affect where people eat, what people eat, and how they feel about the experience.

Short description of meal and environment. (may include an image)

 

 

 

Effects as positive and negative influences

Where

 

 

What

 

Feel

 

Nutritional and diet goals for good health (Activity 2)

areas of health imagest

Purpose - Describe how a good nutritional diet can provide for and maintain good health.

Directions: Answer the focus questions and Review nutritional information. Then list ideas how a good nutritional diet can help provide and maintain good health in each area of good health: social, physical, and mental/ emotional health. Consider your ideas as a good beginning and review them over the next weeks to consider changes to make them more beneficial and achievable.

What are nutrients?

 

 

What nutritional goals can I set for good health?

 

 

Note how all nutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, sugar, starch, fats, vitamins, water, & minerals) are included?

Nutrition related to the three categories of health and well being

Describe how nutrition relates to the three categories of health and well being.

Social

 

 

 

 

 

Physical

 

 

 

 

 

Mental/ emotional health

 

 

 

 

 

What do I know about how nutrients related to good health? (Activity 3)

Purpose - Describe how nutrients relate to good health.

Directions: Investigate an assigned area and write information to describe how nutrients related to good health.

What do I know about how nutrients affect good health?

 

 

Energy

Description & purpose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Protein

Description & purpose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carbohydrates, sugar, starch

Description & purpose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fats

Description & purpose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water

Description & purpose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minerals

Description & purpose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources

 

 

 

 

 

What do I know about vitamins today? (Activity 4)

Purpose - Describe what you know about vitamins.

Directions: Answer the following questions the best you can. This is a survey to know what you know now. Don't worry about what might be right or not.

Vitamin survey

1. List the kinds of vitamins you can remember in a minute or less

 

 

2. When do you think people learned about vitamins? (What year or decade?)

 

 

3. How do you think people found out about vitamins?

 

 

4. Name a vitamin and two foods that have high levels of the vitamin

Vitamin -

1.

2.

 

5. Name another vitamin and two foods that have high levels of the vitamin

Vitamin -

1.

2.

 

 

Vitamin in a day (Activity 5)

Materials

  1. Access to electronic databases for vitamin percentages:
    • Nutrition value .org - comprehensive list of nutrients, vitamins... However, limited foods
    • Self-Nutrition - comprehensive list of nutrients, vitamins... Join to track ... Nutrient balance, protein quality chart...
    OR Food labels from foods eaten or charts.
  2. 100% chart. To chart the percentage of each food with the targeted vitamin.

Purpose - Quantify the amount of one vitamin included in a daily diet or taken as a supplement for a day.

Directions:

  • Select a vitamin. See Vitamin information.
  • List all foods you ate and vitamins you took yesterday.
  • Use labels or a database to find what percentage of your selected vitamin is in each food you ate and the vitamin you took. Suggested databases
    • Nutrition value .org - comprehensive list of nutrients, vitamins... However, limited foods
    • Self-Nutrition - comprehensive list of nutrients, vitamins... Join to track ... Nutrient balance, protein quality chart...
  • Mark the 100% chart with the amount for each food to summarize the percentage for your selected vitamin in all the foods you ate vitamins you took for your targeted vitamin.

Worksheet

Selected vitamin:

List of foods eaten yesterday and the percentage of the selected vitamin in each.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For each food eaten shade or color the percent of vitamin in each.
One square = one percent. One row = 10%.
If you fill the entire chart, that means you had 100% of the vitamin.

chart

What did you discover?

 

What conclusions can you make?

 

Write a goal or goals for getting enough vitamins in your diet.

 

 

How were vitamins discovered? (Activity 6)

Materials

Purpose - Describe how humans found out about vitamins.

Directions: Select one of five vitamins: A, B1, B3, C, or D. Use the information in the materials below to learn about the story of the vitamin you selected, summarize that story, and how it is important for healthy lives. Then share your wisdom with others.

Focus questions:

Who discovered vitamins?

 

When do you think people discovered vitamins?

 

Why was the discovery of vitamins important?

 

What was the process for discovering vitamins?

 

 

Suggestions

  1. Select one of five vitamins: A, B1, B3, C, or D.
  2. Read the selection for the vitamin in the Great Vitamin Mystery
  3. Summarize and write a discovery story for the vitamin that includes the information in the following checklist present to the class.

    • Describe the observed unhealthy conditions of the people.
    • Describe the diet of the unhealthy people.
    • Describe the change in the diet to make it more healthy.
    • Describe how the vitamin was missing from the diet.
    • Write a cause and effect explanation for the disease.
    • Describe an explanation or model of what happens in a human body related to this vitamin.

Notes for your story

Vitamin selected

Discovery story

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who did you share your story with?

 

Notes from other stories: Vitamins A, B1, B3, C, or D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary

What was the process for discovering vitamins?

 

Explain how the combination of several investigations lead to an explanation of what was happening in the body that could be verifiable and have predictive value.

 

 

Explain how the combination of several of these discoveries was historically important and lead to the idea of vitamins as something that was beyond one plant or specific food and related to multiple possible unhealthy conditions.

 

 

Describe how communication affected the rate of these discoveries.

 

 

 

 

Lab Summary (Activity 7)

Materials

Purpose - Conduct and describe an investigation about nutrients or vitamins.

Directions: Select and conduct one of the investigations from the food investigation activities: calcium & bones, starch test, milk separation, protein search, mineral find, fat find, eggs & protein, measuring acid, measuring sugar, measuring food energy and measuring vitamin c. and write a summary.

What I did...

Investigation I selected

 

What I did

 

 

 

Summary of discovery

 

 

 

 

What I learned

 

 

 

 

 

What I would like to know more about...

 

 

Physical activity goals and plan for good health (Activity 8)areas of health imagest

Purpose - Describe a physical activity plan that will provide and maintain good health.

Directions: In your nutritional and diet goals for good health you included goals that relate to good physical health. In this activity you can review what you included and describe a physical activity plan that will help you achieve and maintain good health. See key ideas about physical activity, kinds of exercise, and considerations for a personal activity plan.

 

Physical activity goals

 

 

 

 

 

Physical activity plan

 

 

 

 

Crossword Puzzle for Nutrition, Diet, & Exercise (Activity 9)

Cross word puzzle for Nutrition, Diet, & Exercise key words

 

Nutrition Review (Activity 9)

Review worksheet

 

 

 

 

 

Fact Sheets

Influences that affect a person's diet and nutritional choices

  1. Advertising
  2. Education
  3. Family
  4. Culture
  5. Peers
  6. Time
  7. Economic conditions or Money
  8. Government

Nutrients, investigations, functions and sources

Nutrients information, food investigation, function & source outline

History of five vitamins

Great Vitamin Mystery

Physical activity and health key ideas

Definitions

  • Physical activity is any movement that works your muscles and causes the body to use more energy than when it is resting.
  • Physical fitness is the state of being ability to perform your occupations, sports, and generally go about your life without being tired or needing assistance.
  • Exercise is any activity with physical effort that improves or maintains physical fitness. Activities that may be planned, repeated, and structured.
  • Sedentary is being inactive or seated resulting in little physical activity.

Benefits achieved by regular physical exercise and a healthy diet.

  • Cardiovascular system - exercise strengthens the heart so it can more easily pump blood. Reducing heart rate, blood pressure, increasing flow of nutrients to the cells and waste away from cells, more efficient flow of oxygen to cells and carbon dioxide from cells, and lowers levels of bad cholesterol.
  • Respiratory system - exercise increases the amounts of air brought into the lungs and the amount of oxygen transferred to the cells. Provides for better metabolism and endurance. Increased air flow reduces chances of respiratory infections such as cold, flu, and pnemonia
  • Skeletal system - exercise strengths bones which provide greater support and endurance and is needed to maintain it into old age.
  • Muscular system - exercise increases muscle strength, size, flexibility, balance, coordination, and endurance.
  • Body composition -exercise provides a more balanced body. Having a more healthy fat to lean body tissue. More healthy blood sugar level. Having a better balance of hormones for better feelings and emotional stability. See also exercise reduces stress and anxiety.
  • Exercise assists immunity
  • Sleep - exercise helps people to get to sleep more easily, sleep longer, and better.
  • Relaxation
  • Self-esteem - exercise provides a sense of accomplishment allowing you to do more and feel better. Regular exercise and a healthy diet also helps you look better, which can increase self-esteem.
  • Social benefits from exercise develop by being more active and presenting more opportunities to interact with more people in a positive energetic manner. Being involved in sports allows for greater opportunities of teamwork and sportsmanship.

Kinds of exercise

Aerobic exercise uses large groups of muscles and raises heart rate with the use of oxygen. Exercises such as jogging, rowing, swimming, or cycling. Strengthens the heart and lungs, thereby improving the body's use of oxygen.

Anaerobic exercise uses oxygen more quickly than the body is able to replenish it inside the working muscle through blood flow. Therefore, muscle fibers provide energy from stored carbohydrates like glycogen, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and creatine phosphate (CP). Weight training is an example of such an activity that is anabolic, but can become catabolic (destructive metabolism) if done in excess.

Isometric exercise is muscle exercise with little or no movement of the muscles. Such as pushing against a wall or muscle pushing or pulling against another muscle while remaining stationary.

Isotonic exercise is movement of joint with their related muscles by lifting a constant weight at variable speeds through a range of motion. Such as lifting free weights, doing push-up, sit-ups, to build strength and flexibility.

Isokinetic exercise is based on lifting, pulling, or pushing variable weight or resistance at a constant speed. Such as using a weight machine and other exercise equipment to increase muscular strength, power, and endurance.

Considerations for Planning a personal activity program

  • Type of workout - see kinds of exercise above to combine for workouts that will achieve your goals.
  • Cost - dependent on kind of activity, recreation facility or center, entry fees, purchase personal machines, weights, other equipment, shoes and clothing.
  • Location - facility: inside outside, weather or climate control, distance to travel,
  • Schedule - frequency and intensity of workout, when: days and times, morning, afternoon, night and how long.
  • Personalized - beginning level of fitness, appropriate selection of activity, and progression of intensity will meet your desired needs and expected goals or results.
  • Over all health - doctor approval for the type of exercise selected.
  • Safety concerns - equipment safety, know how to use equipment, appropriate exercises for you, warm-up, cool-down, other participants are reliable and trustworthy.

Mental and emotional health key ideas

Accurate and quality information is needed to make good decisions.

A healthy person understanding what is human, their body, it's anatomy, functions of life, growth, and development well enough to care for them self and others to attain and maintain physically, emotionally, and socially healthy bodies. To achieve this one must be able to describe, analyze, predict, and compare how different variables affect the body to make wise decisions. Desire to learn about nutrition diet, exercise, sleep, stress, relaxation, choice of behaviors, social skills, conflict resolution, cooperation, genetics, safety, injuries, health status, illness, natural disasters, environmental health, and risks, will impact them and others in different situations or conditions.

 

Meal pictures

Adolescents eating Source Young adults eating Source Friends eating

Source

Picnic

Source

Family dinner Source

Word bank

Amino acids join together to make proteins

Anorexia nervosa is a mental and physical disorder characterized by loss of weight brought on by an unrealistic fear of weight gain, self-starvation, and conspicuous distortion of body image. Health is compromised and may be fatal. Latin definition means - nervous inability to eat.

Appetite is a desire or craving for food or water.

Bias 1: an unfair comparison of one thing, person, or group to another 2: a known or unknown tendency or preference for a particular idea, brand, result, or perspective that interferes with being impartial, unprejudiced, or objective when making a decision. 3: unfairly support one idea or side against another.

Ways bias can be used to influence decision making.

  • With limited options or omission. Selections that offer one point of view by omitting alternatives. Offering only positive consequences and not negative.
  • Placement Information given first or reported on the first page, or beginning of a television or radio newscasts.
  • Use of photos, word selection in captions, camera angles, color, choice of shots.
  • Use of names and titles. Mr. Mrs, Dr. ex-con, terrorist, freedom fighter, ...
  • Use of numbers and statistics to make something a disaster report A hundred injured in air crash rather than only minor injuries in air crash.
  • Selection of information source. A reporter, eyewitness, police, fire official, executive, elected or appointed government officials.
  • Word choice and tone. Use of positive or negative words or words with a particular connotation. Riots, demonstrations, sit-ins, ribbon cuttings, speeches, ceremonies, gathering.

Binge eating is when people eat excessively and compulsively.

Blister a raised area on the skin filled with liquid. Usually caused by friction. Cover them and let them heal. Protect feet with well-fitting socks and shoes and hands with gloves.

Body image is a mental or visual image of what one's body is or should be like. It is sometimes idealized or misconceived in a mental disorder such as anorexia nervosa. See Dove videos referenced below Body image, media resources.

Bulimia nervosa is a mental and physical disorder characterized by consumption of large amounts of food (binge) and ridding of the food of calories (purge) by fasting, excessive exercise, vomiting, or using laxatives. The behavior often serves to reduce stress and relieve anxiety created by concern with weight and self-image. It is often accompanied by depression, is serious, and sometimes life-threatening.

Caffeine is a substance in coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate, kola nuts, and energy drinks. It has several effects on metabolism. Most common is stimulation of alertness and a boost of energy. For an average adult 400 mg of caffeine a day is thought safe by the Mayo Clinic, European Food Safety Authority, and other groups. However, too much caffeine can make a person jittery or shaky, stay awake or be unable to sleep, have headaches, dizziness, increased heart rate or abnormal heart rhythm, and become dehydrated. It is addictive and can cause withdrawal symptoms when not used.

Calorie is a unit used to measure the amount of energy in food. One calorie is the amount of heat energy it takes to increase the temperature of one gram of water one degree.

Carbohydrates are are sweet or starchy foods. Chemically they are sugars, starches, and cellulose in different combinations.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a federal agency in Atlanta, Georgia that tracks and investigates public health concerns and supports health through promotion, prevention and preparation activities to improve overall public health.

Celiac disease is intolerance to gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley. Treatment is to avoid these and any product which includes them, pasta, bread, beer.

Cholesterol is a waxy fat like substance in blood. It is used to make cell walls, clotting, hormones, and vitamin D. Too much can cause heart disease.

Concussion is an injury to the brain usually caused by a violent blow or impact that results in loss of function, consciousness, and memory that can be temporary or sometimes prolonged. A concussion can cause blurry vision, dizziness, vomiting, confusion, brain damage, seizures, weakness on one side of the body, coma, and death. Rest and sleep to let the brain heal. Consult a doctor to establish when it's safe to return to full activity.

Creatine is an amino acid that helps release energy particularly for muscle contraction. Used to provide a burst of energy or strength and reduce fatigue. Side effects are cramps, nausea, and damage the heart, liver, and kidneys. In addition to improving athletic performance, creatine is prescribed for congestive heart failure (CHF), depression, bipolar disorder, Parkinson’s disease, muscle diseases, diseases of the nerves, gyrate atrophy, high cholesterol, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), rheumatoid arthritis, McArdle’s disease, and muscular dystrophies.

Cross contamination is the process of passing microorganisms or other harmful substances from one food to another. Usually by touching raw food, with hands, other food, sponge, towel, cutting board, or utensil; then, without cleaning it, allowing it to touch another ready-to-eat food. For example, preparing a salad on the same surface where raw meat was placed.

Dates sell by, use by, fresh by are included on products at the discretion of the producer, and can vary widely in meaning.

Dietary supplements are a variety of amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and herbs taken as nutritional supplements to regular food.

Dislocated is when a bone moves from its normal position relative to a joint. Can be painful and miss shaped. Do not move the person and get medical help.

Eating disorder is any of various extreme or harmful eating behaviors that can cause severe illness or death. Such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia.

Energy drink is a beverage with stimulant drugs marked to provide enhanced mental and physical activity. The main ingredient is usually caffeine. They may or may not have carbonation, sugar, herbal extracts, B vitamins, and amino acids. For an average adult 400 mg of caffeine a day is thought safe by the Mayo Clinic, European Food Safety Authority, and other groups.

Exercise is any activity with physical effort that improves or maintains physical fitness. Exercise activities may be planned, repeated, and structured.

Fatty acids are used to make fats.

Fats are concentrated forms of energy. see also unsaturated, saturated, and trans fats.

Fat soluble vitamin are vitamins A, D, E, and K.

Food intolerance is a negative reaction to food that doesn't involve the immune system. For example, lactose intolerance.

Food labels include: free, none, insignificant amount, low, light, reduced, high, and so on. See explanations of these different meanings.

Fiber is a carbohydrate the body can’t digest or absorb.

Food additives are substances that are added to food to enhance it in a variety of ways. Taste better - adding sweeteners, salt, fat, texture... Look better - adding color... More nutritious - adding vitamins, adding fiber to increase fiber or to reduce fat...

Food allergies is a negative response by the immune system to a protein in certain foods. Most often peanuts, milk, eggs, soybeans, tree nuts, wheat, fish, and shellfish.

Fracture is a break or crack in a bone or cartilage. It can cause severe pain, swelling, bruising, or bleeding. Do not move the person and get medical help.

Herbal supplement is a substance obtained from a flowering plant whose stem isn't woody and whose growth usually ends in the fall (herb).

Hunger is the bodies response when it needs food.

Lactarian is a person whose diet includes plants (vegan) and dairy products.

Lactose intolerant is when people lack sufficient lactase, to metabolize lactose, causing bloating, gas, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea depending on the amount eaten.

Metabolism is the process in which energy is derived from food.

Minerals are elements found in food used by the body.

Muscle cramp is a sudden involuntary and sometimes painful contraction of muscles caused by overworked or dehydrated muscles. Stretching and rehydration can relieve cramps.

Nutrition is the process of a body taking in and using food.

Nutrient dense foods have a high ratio of nutrients to calories. More nutrients for each calorie. Carrots are more nutrient dense than a potato chip.

Nutrients are substances that provide nourishment essential for growth and the maintenance of life. Nutrients include: proteins, carbohydrates, sugar, starch, fats, vitamins, water, & minerals

Organic are foods without chemicals: such as synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, nor contain any GMO's (genetically modified organisms) or subjected to some types of radiation.

Osteoporosis is when bones become porous, brittle, fragile, and can easily break as a result of not enough calcium.

Partially hydrogenated fats are currently considered the worst fats for our health and have been removed from many products.

Pasteurize is the process of heating a substance to kill or slow the growth of microorganisms that can cause disease or spoil food.

Performance enhancers are substances that improve athletic and other performance.

Physical activity is any movement that works your muscles and causes the body to use more energy than when it is resting.

Physical fitness is the state of being able to easily perform your occupation, sports, and generally go about your life without getting tired or altering your plans to reduce the physical activity.

Protein is the building blocks of the body. Your body uses about 20 amino acids, digested from your food and put back together as proteins to make all the cells in your body.

Saturated fats are mostly from animal or vegetable sources.

Sedentary is being inactive or seated resulting in little physical activity.

Steroids there are two types of steroids naturally in the body. Corticosteroids and androgenic/anabolic steroids. For additional information see them. Steroids are strong medicines and have side effects, which may include weakened bones and cataracts. Because of this, they are prescribed for short durations.

  • Corticosteroids are made in the adrenal cortex located above the kidney. These hormones include aldosterone, which helps regulate sodium concentration in the body, and cortisol, which plays many roles in the body, including serving as part of the body's stress response system, and the bodies illness, injury, and immune response. Corticosteroids are used to: reduce inflammation, treat arthritis, asthma, autoimmune diseases such as lupus and multiple sclerosis, skin conditions such as eczema and rashes, and some kinds of cancer. See also steroids.
  • Androgen steroids, are natural and synthetic hormones. The most renown androgen is testosterone made naturally in the testicles, ovaries, and adrenal cortex. Androgenic steroids, such as testosterone, is involved with the development of male sex characteristics. The anabolic part is involved in increasing the amount of body tissue by increasing protein production. The pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain, helps regulate testosterone production and hormone secretion.
  • Anabolic steroid is a synthetic derivative of testosterone available as a prescription for those in need of a supplement and available illegally by people who abuse them to help increase athletic performance and improve body appearance. There are serious and irreversible side effects that have resulted from unusually high levels of steroids. These include high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, liver damage, heart failure, acne, baldness, aggressive behavior, and violent behavior.

Strain is a stretched or pulled muscle that can range anywhere from a slightly stretched muscle to one that is torn apart. The strain can be in the muscle, or where the muscle attaches to a tendon, or can be the tendon or where the tendon attaches to the bone. They can result with muscle fatigue, overuse, or improper use of any muscle, but are most common in the back, neck, shoulder, and hamstring (a muscle in the top back of a leg). Mild-to-moderate strains are treated with ice, heat, and anti-inflammatory drugs. Severe strains or tears may require medical treatment.

Sprain is a stretched or torn ligament (ligaments connect bones or cartilage) at a joint that causes pain, swelling, or stiffness.

Super Tracker is a web site with an interactive guide to assist in healthy eating.

Tendonitis is inflammation of a tendon that can cause swelling, pain, or discomfort.

Trans fats include hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats created when liquid oils are turned into solid fats. Shortening and stick margarine are examples.

Vitamins are organic substances in food that are used by the body to regulate how it works.

Unsaturated fats are usually from liquid and plant sources, such as canola oil, seeds, and nuts. Moderate amounts can help lower blood cholesterol and protect the heart.

Vegan is a person who eats only plant based foods. Omits all animal products from their diet.

Vegetarian a person who eats vegetables, fruits, nuts, grain, etc. Does not eat meat, fish, fowl. However, in some cases they may not eat any food derived from animals, such as eggs or cheese.

Wash hands for at least 20 seconds with warm water and soap before handling food and always after handling meat, eggs, pets, diapers, or leaving the bathroom.

Water soluble vitamins examples are folic acid, Vitamin A, and the B vitamins.

References

 

Dr. Robert Sweetland's notes
homeofbob.com & thehob.net