Here are some activities related to nutrition.

activities

1) You can do this activity as an individual or member of a group.  Look up the nutrition information on the back of packs of junk food (e.g. chips, lollies, chocolates).  Note down the total fat, sugar and sodium per 100g.  Look up the nutrition information on the back of packs of regular cereals (ie: cornflakes, weetbix, muesli etc) and note down the total fat, sugar and sodium.  How do quantities of sugar and fat in the two types of food groups compare (e.g. how big is the difference)?

The RDI (Recommended Dietary Intake) for Sodium for people aged 8-18 in NZ/Australia is a maximum of 2300 mg.  What percentage (%) of the sodium your body needs per day (2300mg) is contained in 100 g of the products you have looked at (calclulate this by taking the amount of sodium (mg) in product per 100 g, divided by 2300, times 100).  Remember that although this is the recommended amount some people may need more or less depending on how their bodies absorb it

2) Design a poster to put up in the maternity ward of a local hospital communicating one message about the benefits of breastfeeding for the child or the mother.  Search on the NZ breastfeeding authorities web site for information if needed

Teacher could contact a local baby-friendly hospital and see if they would be interested in displaying the posters.

3) Vitamin C – Research what foods contain vitamin C and then think about how you could create a nice tasting vitamin C boost to help out your body when you have a cold or the flu.  Write down your recipe and then make it one day for homework – how did it taste?

4) Analyse your diet!  Write down everything you eat and drink for a day, breakfast, lunch, dinner & snacks.

It is generally agreed that the food we should eat the most of is Bread, Cereal, Rice & Pasta, Fruit & Vegetables.  How many items from your list fit into this group?

5) Peer nutrition survey – survey five of your friends or relatives to see how much they understand about nutrition.  You can come up with your own questions or use the ones below.  Once you have finished your survey write a paragraph outlining what the results showed.

a) Circle the reasons below that you think stop people from developing countries getting enough of the right food for their bodies to stay healthy?

War
Drought/Flooding or other disasters
Lack of food variety available
Lack of money to buy food
Lack of education to know what is the best food to eat
Disease

b) Do you think any people in New Zealand suffer because they eat the wrong types of food?

Yes      No

c) If yes how do you think they suffer?

d) What percentage of children in NZ do you think are overweight or obese?

10      25      31      47

e) Do you think it is really necessary for manufacturers in NZ to add vitamins or minerals to our food?

Yes      No

If yes, why?

f) Why do you think vitamins and minerals aren't added as frequently to food in developing countries?

Answers:

a) All of them

b & c) Yes - (diabetes, iodine deficiency (lack of salt), obesity/high colesterol  (risk of heart attacks etc))

d) 31%

e) Yes because most people do not eat enough of the food that provides all of the vitamins and minerals they need.  In some cases it is because the vitamins and minerals aren't available in the foods we have access too.  For example NZ doesn't have much iodine in its soil therefore not many of our plants grown here contain iodine.

f) Main reasons:

Cost of the vitamin/minerals to the manufacturers
Too many different producers of products to make it a practical solution
They make most of their own food
Makes the product too expensive so people are less likely to buy it
Lack of education about the benefits of adding vitamins & minerals to food
    

Water is important because without it we would die but if it isn’t clean, it can make us very sick.

Here are four ways to make water safe:

1. Boiling
If we boil water vigorously for about 5 minutes it kills most germs.  It might taste flat so we can improve the taste by pouring it from one clean container to another.

2. Tablets
There are two types of chemical treatment for water using tablets – one is using iodine and the other is using chlorine.  Different brands have different instructions but usually a tablet is added to water and swished around until it dissolves.  Then the water is left to stand for about 30 minutes.  Germs are killed more effectively if the water is not too cold.

3. Sunlight
Leaving clear water under the bright, hot sun for at least 8 hours kills germs, but it’s safer and more effective to try boiling or chlorination!

4. Filtering
You can make a simple filter to remove dirt and some germs.  To learn about making your own filter, click here.