FSNE Extending Lesson Choosing Low Fat Healthy Snacks

FSNE
Extending Lesson
Choosing Low Fat Healthy Snacks
How to be Fat Wise
Grades 9-12
I. Nutrition Education Objectives:
A. Choose healthy snack choices.
II. Pennsylvania Educational Standards:
A. 1.6 Speaking and Listening
B. 2.2 Computation and Estimation
C. 2.5 Mathematical Problem Solving and Communication
D. 11.3 Food Science and Nutrition
E. 10.1 Concepts of Health
F. 10.2 Healthful Living
III. Content
A. Students and educator will discuss the pros and cons of snacking, as well as the
students’ favorite snacks.
B. Students will learn about fat content in snack foods.
C. Students will become more familiar with reading food labels.
D. You can use food labels for snack choices. Nutrition Facts provide information
about your snacks: for example, how big the serving size is; how much fat,
calcium, iron, and fiber it has; and how many calories one serving gives.
IV. Materials
A. Nutrition Facts labels from such as as: chips, pretzel, regular cookies, graham
crackers, candy bar, banana, cheese, carrot, peanut butter, fat-free yogurt
(Students can be asked to bring in a package of a typical snack they eat or the
teacher can provide labels.)
B. Handout: “Read It Before You Eat It”
V. Procedure
A. Introductory:
a. What are some of your favorite snack foods?
b. Where do you usually buy your snack foods?
c. How do you decide what to buy? Do you ever look at the label? What do
you look at if you do? Can you tell if a snack has any fat by looking at it?
Can you tell how much fat it has?
d. Discuss the possible problems with snacking:
Nutrition Center, Drexel University, Revised 8/06 Page 1
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Too many calories from snacks can cause weight gain
Too much fat
Too much sugar
Spoils appetite for healthier foods
B. Developmental:
a. Reading Snack Labels
i. Distribute Nutrition Facts Cards or actual bags of snack foods
(student may have to work in pairs or groups of three).
1. “Does the snack have a little or a lot of fat?”
2. “Does the snack have a little or a lot of any other
nutrients?”
3. “Which of the snacks are your best bets for healthful
eating? Why?”
ii. Explain the following while the students look at their food label.
“Read It Before You Eat It” handout can be distributed to the
students and/or used as a transparency.
1. Serving Size – This number will be in some type of
measurable unit such as ounces, cups, or grams. This
number is important because all the numbers on the
Nutrition Facts label will apply to one serving of the
particular food.
2. Servings Per Container – This number indicates how many
servings are in the package. Many snack foods have more
than one serving so you have to be careful if you eat
everything in the package or container.
3. Calories – Number of calories in one serving
4. Calories from Fat – Number of calories coming from fat.
Remember that 1 gram of fat = 9 calories. So, if a food has
12 grams of fat there will be about 110 calories coming
from fat (12 x 9 = 108; this number is often rounded for
packaging purposes).
5. % Daily Value – This number is calculated for most
nutrients on the label. It is based on a 2000 calorie diet. In
small print at the bottom of the Nutrition Facts are the
actual amounts of nutrient listed in milligrams (mg) or
grams (g). So the % is calculated based on what is needed
for a 2000 calorie diet and how much is in the product.
a. You would want smaller % of nutrients such as
Total Fat, Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium
b. You would want a larger % of nutrients such as
Dietary Fiber and vitamins and minerals.
c. Quick Guide to % Daily Value:
i. 5% or less is LOW
ii. 6-19% is MODERATE
iii. 20% or more is HIGH
Nutrition Center, Drexel University, Revised 8/06 Page 2
d. Example: Chips: 24% Daily Value of fat per
serving. If you ate one serving, you’d be meeting
close to ¼ of your fat needs—in one snack food! If
you ate two servings, you’d be eating 48%--close to
half of your fat allotment for the entire day—in one
snack food!
iii. Have each student or group report his/her findings for fat.
Suggestion: Have a student construct a chart on the blackboard
with the headings: “High Fat” “Medium Fat” and “Low Fat.”
Based on the results above, write the snack name under the
category to which it belongs.
iv. Again, note the impact that portion size has on % fat contributed
by each snack.
v. Explain: Fat is not the only thing that’s important in making
healthy snack choices. The nutritional value of the food also
should be considered. Have students check the label to see if you
can find any indication of its nutritional worth (check
vitamin/mineral section at the bottom) and protein section in the
middle. It’s important not to make snack choices based only on the
fat content. Check the “big picture”.
C. Concluding:
a. What advice can you offer other students who are interested in making
healthy snack choices? Generate ideas.
i. Choose low fat snacks
1. Try fruits and vegetables
2. Low fat cheese or yogurt
ii. Choose foods from the food groups for snacks
iii. Share a snack with a friend
iv. Together with some friends, ask the corner store owner to order
some healthier snack options and show your support by buying
them.
Nutrition Center, Drexel University, Revised 8/06 Page 3
READ IT
before you EAT IT!
Facts
How many Nutrition
Size 1 cup (228g)
servings are Serving
Servings Per Container 2
you eating? Amount Per Serving
Calories 250 Calories from Fat 110
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 12g
Saturated Fat 3g
Cholesterol 30mg
Sodium 470mg
Total Carbohydrate 31g
Dietary Fiber 0g
Sugars 5g
Protein 5g
Vitamin A
4%
Calcium
20%
•
•
18%
15%
10%
20%
10%
0%
Get What
You Need!
Get LESS
∞ is ororlowless
¤‚ is highmore
%
%
Get ENOUGH
∞ is ororlowless
¤‚ is highmore
%
Vitamin C 2%
Iron
4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie
%
diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower
depending on your calorie needs:
2,500
Calories:
2,000
Total Fat
Less than
Sat Fat
Less than
Cholesterol
Less than
Sodium
Less than
Total Carbohydrate
Dietary Fiber
65g
20g
300mg
2,400mg
300g
25g
80g
25g
300mg
2,400mg
375g
30g
What food would have this Nutrition Facts label? Answer below.*
What’s the Best Choice for You?
Use the 5%-20% Guide to Daily Values to choose foods.
*Answer:
Box of macaroni and cheese.
How do your choices stack up? The photos show approximate serving sizes from the five major food groups of the Food
Guide Pyramid. This combination of food choices shows the servings from the Pyramid for an older child, a teen girl, an
active woman, and most men, for one day. Teen boys and active men may need more servings of food.
www.fns.usda.gov/tn
United States Department of Agriculture • Food and Nutrition Service • October 2002
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.