Nutrition
These resources can be used to support learning about nutrition at Key Stage Three. The list provides a range of activities, lesson ideas, film clips, careers resources, background information, practical tips and suggested teaching strategies. From 2014, students should be taught about:
• the content of a healthy human diet: carbohydrates, lipids (fats and oils), proteins, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre and water, and why each is needed
• calculations of energy requirements in a healthy daily diet
• the consequences of imbalances in the diet, including obesity, starvation and deficiency diseases.
Visit the secondary science webpage to access all lists: https://www.stem.org.uk/secondary-science
Whilst this list provides a source of information and ideas for experimental work, it is important to note that recommendations can date very quickly. Do NOT follow suggestions which conflict with current advice from CLEAPSS, SSERC or recent safety guides. eLibrary users are responsible for ensuring that any activity, including practical work, which they carry out is consistent with current regulations related to Health and Safety and that they carry an appropriate risk assessment. Further information is provided in our Health and Safety guidance.
What's in Your Food? *suitable for home teaching*
In this video, food expert Stefan Gates carries out an explosive experiment to test the levels of energy in two different breakfast cereals. You could do this demonstration yourself to introduce the idea of measuring the nutritional value of food and lead into the washing line activity below.
The Roman Banquet
In this activity, students match various nutrient groups with the food groups and consider the nutritional benefits. They are then provided with food cards that cover the kinds of foods eaten in Roman times and asked to plan a day's diet for a Roman senator, soldier, laundry boy and child. The resource is accompanied by teachers' guidance notes and teachers' tools comprising jigsaw sheets, answer sheets and food cards.
Strengthening Teaching and Learning of Energy, Secondary National Strategy
Looking at the information on food labels is a common activity when investigating nutrition. This resource suggests a more active approach to this.
Open part 1 of the resource and scroll to page 31 to find the washing line activity. In groups, students place their foods on a washing line in order of energy content per 100 g. They can then be challenged to see if there is a similar trend according to various food groups, such as fat, protein, leading to discussion on whether some foods are bigger energy stores than others.
Appendix 7 contains labels that have the energy information blanked out and are referred to as the ‘mystery’ foods. Students can apply what they have learned from the other labels to predict where these should be placed on the string lines.
Mission X: train like an astronaut (training brochure)
Menu variety with crew exposed to healthier and tastier foods has been shown to decrease stress during a space mission and therefore lead to a less stressed, healthier crew who perform to the best of their ability.
This resource uses the context of space exploration to allow students to apply what they have learned about a balanced diet.
Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice *suitable for home teaching*
This resource focuses on the sugar content of soft drinks and the constituents of a balanced diet. Students use the data provided from secondary sources to answer a series of questions to explore the effect of drinking soft drinks on students' sugar intake and to compare this to recommended daily amounts.
Are You a Hare or a Tortoise? *suitable for home teaching*
This resource provides a useful starting point when thinking about the consequences of imbalances in the diet, including obesity.
It is also provided in word format and so could be edited or added to. It is a good activity for students to develop skills in interpreting bar charts and pie charts, using mode averages and interpreting tables.
Eating to Win
This video would provide a great introduction to the minimise or supersize activity below.
A triathlon is a punishing combination of cycling, running and swimming, and Matt has to train at least thirty hours a week. Matt eats a lot in a day but his diet is scientifically worked out to provide not only the necessary protein, calcium, fibre and vitamins to keep his body in peak condition, but also the carbohydrate needed to provide the energy for so much intense exercise.
Minimise or Supersize
Although this is resource was intended for maths teachers to provide context to the use of formulae, it is equally suited to use in science. Alternatively, pass it onto your maths department to link the two curricula.
The activities explore students' perceptions of the amounts of salt, sugar and fat in a selection of everyday foods. They also look at energy requirements, with students estimating their own energy requirements and comparing these to guidelines. The final activity is to take on the role of a nutritionist to plan suitable lunchtime meals for a family member, a celebrity or a sports person.
