Fact: American children currently obtain 50% of their calories from added fats and sugars.

Nutrition Ed Activities

Help students understand the importance of considering sugar, fat and salt in their food choices! The following activity demos help students visualize the content of Sugar in Beverages, Fat in Fast Foods and Sweets, and Salt in Processed Foods. Each demo includes an equipment list for easy lesson preparation, easy to follow activity steps, and key talking points to discuss with students in the classroom, at a health fair or at a parent night. Optional talking points are included if instructors are interested in conducting an in-depth lesson.

DEMO: Sugar Content in Beverages

Objective:
For participants to understand the high sugar (and caloric) content in various ‘every day’ beverages that are typically consumed by the average American, and its long-term negative impact.

Equipment List:
a. 6 containers of popular drinks – suggestions below:
• Pepsi – 12 oz. Can (10.25 Tsp)
• Sunkist Orange Soda – 12 oz. (13 Tsp)
• Dairy Queen – Mr. Misty Slush -normal size is 32 oz, which is 28 Tsp
• Apple Juice (unsweetened) – 12 oz (13.9 Tsp)
• Orange Juice (unsweetened from concentrate) – 12 oz (10.8 Tsp)
• Strawberries Wild Jamba Juice (Small is 16 oz = 18 Tsp of sugar)
• Tea – 12 oz –No Sugar
• Water – no sugar
b. One or Two pound Bag of White Sugar (Items above total to less than 100 tsps of sugar, and one pound of sugar = 113 tsps).
c. Teaspoon Measurer
d. Seven Clear Containers of some kind that will show sugar easily – or enough wax paper to show seven samples of sugar.
e. Chart to write on (blackboard or Large paper tablet) with appropriate writing utensils.

Activity Steps:
- Line Beverages up
- Ask audience for estimates of sugar content in each beverage, write answers on chart.
- Ask audience for estimate of daily recommended intake (which is approximately 10 teaspoons/day ), write answers on chart.
- Proceed to count out actual number of teaspoons of sugar per beverage – may be useful to ask for audience participation for this step.

Key Talking Points/Relevant Info:
Why Does it Matter how much sugar one eats?
1) Extra Weight – Leads to health problems – Sugar easily converts to extra weight.
One extra can of apple juice a day; can convert to an extra 22 pounds a year!
(13.9 tsps x 15 calories = 208 cals, times 365 days = 76,102 extra cals, divided by 3,500 calories per pound = 22lbs)

2) In addition to obesity, the ADA reports that excess sugar consumption has been linked to the following health problems:
Dental cavities Constipation
Diabetes and hypoglycemia Kidney stones and gallstones
Hyperactivity Osteoporosis
Cardiovascular disease Cancer
Weakened immune system


Optional Talking Point
Short-term impact – Glycemic Index
Definition of Glycemic Index: “The Glycemic Index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating.

High GI Foods Low GI Foods
Characteristics: Digested Rapidly Digested Slowly
GI Value: Over 55 Below 55
Description of what happens: Leads to marked fluctuations in Blood Sugar, which leads to unstable insulin levels. Produces gradual rise in blood sugar and insulin, which has proven to be much healthier.
Health Risks: Increased Risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Heart Disease None – is much healthier, can help with weight loss

Sample Foods – Glycemic Index – shown within each food group from highest GI to Lowest GI
Breads:
Dark Rye 76
White Bread 70
Pumpernickel 41
Heavy mixed Grain 30-45
Legumes
Baked Beans 48
Lentils 28
Soybeans 18
Cereal
Cornflakes 84
Cheerios 83
Puffed Wheat 80
All Bran 42
Snack Food Jelly Beans 80
Mars Bar 65
Chocolate Bar 49
Fruit
Watermelon 72
Banana 55
Orange 44
Peach 42
Apple 38
Dairy
Ice cream, full fat 61
Yogurt, low fat, fruit 33
Milk, Skim 32
Milk full fat 27
Soft Drinks
Gatorade 78
Fanta 68

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DEMO: Fat Content in Foods

Objective:
For participants to understand the high fat (and caloric) content in various ‘every day’ foods and fast foods that are typically consumed by the average American, and its long-term negative impact.

Equipment List:
(All grams of fat have been translated into Teaspoons (Tsp) of Shortening – ratio is 1 Tsp of shortening = 4 grams of fat)
a) Big Mac Meal Value Meal with large fries = 63 grams of fat = 15.75 Tsp.
b) Burger King’s BK Fish sandwich = 32 grams of fat = 8 tsp.
c) Taco Bell’s Taco Salad = 52 grams of fat = 13 Tsp.
d) One cup of ice cream = 25 grams of fat = 6.25 Tsp.
e) One regular size Milky Way = 10 grams of fat = 2.5 Tsp.
f) Apple = zero fat = 0 TBSP
g) Paper plate or cup to represent RDA amount = 65 grams = 16.25 Tsp.
h) Container of Shortening (Need at least 65 Tsps.)
i) Teaspoon Measurer

Activity Steps:
- Ask students to spoon out how much fat they think is in each food item, including the RDA.
- Reveal true amounts
- Initiate discussion about effects of too much fat, in the diet – excess calories – leading to be overweight.
- Also explain that some fat is good from mono- and polyunsaturated sources; the body needs fat to function.


Key Talking Points/Relevant Info:
Why Does it Matter how much fat one eats?

1) Leads to weight gain – which leads to health problems:
The calories in food come from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. A gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories. A gram of protein also contains 4 calories. A gram of fat, though, contains 9 calories — more than twice the amount of the other two.

2) Health Problems of Being Overweight
As they get older, kids and teens that are overweight are more likely to develop diabetes and heart disease. Some of the health problems that affect overweight teens include:
- Asthma, Sleep apnea, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Diabetes and Depression (among others).


Optional Talking Point:
More detailed Facts about Fat and types of fat:

Saturated
Commonly Found in: Beef, poultry skin, cream, butter, cheese, whole dairy products, palm and coconut oils
Health Effect: Raises Bad Cholesterol, Increases risk of Heart Disease
Daily Limit: 7% (140 cals or 16 grams)*
Trans
Commonly Found in: Baked Goods – cookies, doughnuts etc., Fried Foods – French fries, fried chicken etc. Snack foods – popcorn, crackers, traditional stick margarine Vegetable oils – olive, canola, peanut and sesame;
Health Effect: Raises bad Cholesterol; May lower good cholesterol, Increases risk of Heart Disease
Daily Limit: 1% or less (20 calories, 2 grams)*
Mono-unsaturated/ Poly-unsaturated
Commonly Found in: Avocados, many nuts and seeds Vegetable oils – soybean, corn, safflower and sunflower;
Fatty fish – salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring ad trout;
Most nuts and seeds
Health Effect: Reduces bad cholesterol; May lower risk of heart disease
Daily Limit: 25 to 35% (500 to 700 cals, or 55 to 77 grams)*

*Calories and grams based on 2,000 calorie day
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DEMO: Salt Content in Foods


Objective:
For participants to understand the salt content in various ‘every day’ packaged and fast foods that are typically consumed by the average American, and its long-term negative impact.

Equipment List:
1) Set of Lego Blocks (or equivalent representational item – see note*) ONE LEGO BLOCK WILL EQUAL 250MG OF SALT.
2) Calculator
3) Masking Tape (optional)
4) Blackboard or easel (optional)
5) Depending on circumstances – either obtain Six or more of the following food items AND/OR ask students to bring Frozen or Instant Food items from home that they eat regularly. Students may bring packaging from the original containers with the nutrition facts panel if food has already been eaten.
a) Lumberjack Slam Breakfast from Denny’s (4,460mg)
b) Reuben Sandwich (3,270mg)
c) Beef & Cheese nachos with sour cream and guacamole (2,430 mg)
d) Swanson’s Hungry Man XXL Roasted Carved Turkey frozen dinner (5,410mg)
e) Marie Callender’s Classic One Dish Chicken Teriyaki frozen dinner (2,200mg)
f) Denny’s Meat Lover’s Breakfast (3,460mg)
g) General Tso’s chicken w/rice (3,150mg)
h) Oscar Mayer Lunchables Deluxe Turkey & Ham s/Swiss & Cheddar (1,940mg)
i) Maruchan Instant Lunch Ramen Noodles w/Vegetables (1,410mg)
j) McDonald’s bacon, egg and cheese biscuit (1,250mg)
k) Safeway premium wheat hot dog bun (330mg per bun)
l) Draft Singles American Cheese (270mg per one slice)
m) Pizza for One frozen dinner (1,190 mg)
n) Soy sauces (most = 900+mg in one tablespoon)
o) KFC Roasted Caesar Salad (1,380mg)


Activity Steps:
1) Line food items up
2) Ask Students to determine how much salt is in a serving, and how many servings in a container based on information on the box (for items they bring in), and using the Lego Blocks, or other representational item, to count out how many blocks of salt are represented by each food item. Example: Reuben Sandwich = 3,270mg – divide this by 250mg = 13.08 ‘blocks’ of salt, so this item would have 13 Lego blocks placed in front of it.
3) Repeat this process for each food item that is brought in or used in demo.
4) Ask students what they think the Recommended Daily Intake for salt is – and represent that item with the blocks as well.
5) Reveal true RDI which equals 2,300mg of salt (or 9.2 blocks)
6) Initiate discussion about how much salt they typically consume based on the foods they have brought in, and how easily one can double or triple one’s daily intake.

Optional Variation:
Put Masking tape over nutritional information on all packages – ask students to guess how much salt is in each item and write answers on blackboard, then reveal actual quantities.

Key Talking Points/Relevant Info:
Why does it matter how much Salt one eats?

“…the amount of salt in the typical American diet is a major cause of high blood pressure (hypertension).” Hypertension leads to very serious illnesses including strokes and heart attacks.

Related Facts:
• 65 million American Adults have high blood pressure; another 45 million have ‘pre-hypertension.’
• 90% of Americans will eventually develop hypertension.
• African Americans’ rate of hypertension is 60% greater and rate of stroke deaths is 40% greater than that of the general population.
• Increased blood pressure causes about two thirds of strokes and almost half of all heart attacks around the world.

*Note: The RDI of 2,300mg of salt equals one teaspoon, and visually this is not a strong impact – therefore we are recommending that representational blocks be used instead of actual salt. Lego 4+ Basic Bulk set can be purchased online for $28.95. Other possible items that could be used are any kind of uniform stackable cube, or sugar cubes – although this may cause confusion as the exercise is about salt. To represent 6-10 food items, each ranging in salt content from 2000mg to 5000mg could require as many as 200 ‘blocks’ of salt.