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‘Food talk’ for high school students

It must be obvious in the way your students look at the classroom clock as it ticks its way towards recess and/or lunchtime. They are hungry, as most growing boys and girls are. And, of course, food plays the biggest part.

In health classes, how can you best explain healthy eating? The term usually connotes vegetables or tofu or carrot juice. Such type of food doesn’t figure into the regular diet of today’s high school students. That’s for sure.

Still,, it never hurts to make them understand why it is important to their health and over-all well-being.

Point to a basketball player for example, and explain that he would need more protein-rich food before games. Or that food shouldn’t be consumed two hours before bedtime because the body’s metabolism is not that active anymore and the food would simply be stored as fat.

Here are a few more facts and tips on teaching health:

  1. Ask them to classify foods as “Anytime” or “Sometimes” foods. “Anytime” foods are those rich in vitamins and minerals, and lower in fat, salt and sugar (like milk, fruit, bread and beans). On the other hand, “Sometimes” foods are higher in calories, and have more sugar, fat and salt content (like fried food, cakes or ice cream).
  2. Advise them on the following:
    1. Eat vegetables and fruits each day.
    2. Choose foods lower in fat, sugar or salt content.
    3. Drink a lot of water.
  3. Have them research on the food servings they need. A food serving simply refers to how much food is recommended every day from each of the four food groups. Check out the estimated energy requirements chart as well. For example, do they know that only 75 grams of cooked fish, shellfish, poultry or lean meat is recommended per day?
  4. Get the support of their parents in the health lessons since it is their parents who do the grocery shopping and/or cooking. Have your students bring home a healthy food card with the following tips:
    1. Choose whole grain bread over white bread.
    2. Compare Nutrition Facts tables on labels for wise decisions.
    3. Make skim or 1-2% milk available everyday for its Vitamin D.
    4. Instead of buying meat all the time, try beans, lentils or tofu as meat alternatives.
    5. Skin of poultry is not healthy. It is best to remove visible fats from meat.
    6. Roast or bake instead of frying food all the time.
    7. Cook with other people to make meal preparation time more fun and less work.
    8. Always try out new foods and recipes for variety and experimentation.
  5. Encourage them to eat breakfast because it is called the most important meal of the day for good reason. Eating breakfast increases attention span and concentration, and improves physical and mental performance. Even if breakfast consists of juice or milk, some fruit and bread, it still means there is fuel on carbohydrates and protein.

All these reminders and teaching tips might just help steer your students away from obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer and osteoporosis. What’s more, they get healthy, feel and look better, and have more energy. So start talking to them about health today.

Sources:

“Basic Guidelines for Offering Healthful Meals.” Retrieved July 30, 2008 from
http://www.fns.usda.gov/TN/Resources/EmpYouth_ch3.pdf
“Eating Out.” Retrieved July 30, 2008 from
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/using-utiliser/out-exterieur-eng.php
“Food Guide Basics.” Retrieved July 30, 2008 from
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/basics-base/index-eng.php
”Teaching Healthy Choices.” Retrieved July 30, 2008 from
http://www.teachnutrition.org/default.aspx?SectionId=248

(Published 11 August 2008, Smart Communications, Inc.)