Lesson Overview

This lesson helps young people understand the importance of eating a healthful breakfast every day. The youth will plan and research a breakfast meal and create a poster or digital presentation including nutrient information.

Instructor Notes

Before facilitating this lesson, you may want to review the following information about breakfast habits for young people. These facts can be shared with the youth during your discussions.

• Studies show that kids who eat breakfast tend to eat healthier overall and are more likely to participate in physical activities which helps in maintaining a healthy body weight.
• Kids will often skip breakfast, which makes them feel tired, restless, and irritable.
• Breakfast gives the body the refueling it needs for the day ahead after going without food for 8 to 12 hours during sleep.
• What they eat in the morning is important too. Choosing breakfast foods that are rich in whole grains, fiber, and protein while low in added sugar may enhance their attention span, concentration, and memory — which they need to learn in school.

Introduction

1. Ask the youth, what does the word “breakfast” mean?
   Break = to separate or divide.
   Fast = a period of time without food.
   Breakfast means to break the fast.
2. How many hours does your body normally fast from suppertime to breakfast? How about from breakfast to lunch?
3. Why is “breaking” your fast by eating in the morning so important?  Young people can share ideas and brainstorm why it is important. Possible answers include: less tired, less likely to overeat later in day, more likely to choose healthful foods, think more clearly, perform better at school and extra-curricular activities.
4. Explain to the youth that our bodies were not designed to go from suppertime to lunch the next day without eating so our brain and body go into what is referred to as a “starvation mode”. This is where your brain and body starts to conserve energy as a natural mechanism to protect your from starvation, which may leave you feeling more tired, irritable, less able to concentrate, and overall sluggish.

Activity: Calculate Your Basal Metabolic Rate

1. Show the formulas for estimating Basal Metabolic Rate, which is the baseline number of calories our body’s burn in a day when we are being sedentary. Exercise and other activity will increase this, but it gives a starting point. Point out that each person is different. Here are the formulas:
   Male Calculation:
   [Basal Metabolic Rate] = (Body Weight (kg) x 10) + (Height in centimeters (cm) x 6.25) – (Age x 5) + 5
   Female Calculation:
   [Basal Metabolic Rate] = (Body Weight (kg) x 10) + (Height in centimeters (cm) x 6.25) – (Age x 5) – 161
2. ***Body weight in kilogram (kg) = Weight in pounds divided by 2.2 (Example: 130 lbs ÷ 2.2 = 59 kg body weight.
3. ***Height in centimeters (cm) = Height in inches x 2.54 (Example 5’5 ft tall = 65 inches x 2.54 = 165 cm tall.
4. Ask young people to calculate their personal Basal Metabolic Rate, using calculators if necessary and available. They can keep their height and weight private during this activity.
5. Once they have done this, explain that the BMR gives a general idea of how many calories they need to consume each day in order to effectively fuel their bodies. However, if we go too long without eating (for most people between 8 and 12 hours) our BMR drops because our body begins to go into “starvation mode.” That means it burns fewer calories in order to protect itself. This can be bad for weight control, as the body naturally fights back, doing everything it can to make you stop losing any weight. The body and brain may respond by making you hungrier so that your will eat more and at the same time hold onto more of the calories you consume to protect you from losing weight. It also will likely have many other effects on you such as lower energy levels, poorer concentration, poor memory, and feelings of irritability.
6. The bottom line of all this is that breakfast is a very important meal, perhaps the most important of the day.

Activity: Breakfast Recommendations for Young People

1. Ask the youth for some reasons why young people don’t eat breakfast. Possible answers include: want to sleep more, not enough time, nothing to eat at home, not hungry that early in the morning, takes too long to prepare, don’t like typical breakfast foods.
2. Ask the youth for some solutions. Possible answers include:
   • Go to bed 15 to 30 minutes earlier.
   • Get up 15 minutes earlier or set out clothes and shower the night before.
   • Eat school breakfast.
   • Pack breakfast or a snack to eat on way to school.
   • Plan three easy quick breakfasts ahead of time.
   • Eat leftovers from last night’s dinner.
3. Ask, what makes a healthful breakfast?  A healthful breakfast is one that has many nutrients, includes foods from different food groups (fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, and protein).  It should be low in added sugars and fats, high in vitamins and fiber.
4. Introduce the poster activity and have the youth plan and research a breakfast meal and then create a poster or PowerPoint including nutrient information. Grade his or her recommendations by breakfast completeness (at least three of the five food groups included), taste, appearance, and time it takes to prepare.
5. Assign a day to have young people present their breakfast idea to the group.

Conclusion

Breakfast is a critical piece of the Health Powered Kids puzzle. Without breakfast our bodies don’t get the jumpstart they need to operate at their fullest potential throughout the day. Encourage young people to share with their families the ideas they gained through this activity, and to work on making breakfast a routine part of their day.

Continuing the Conversation
Hand out the Healthy Families Newsletter in English or Spanish, which also includes these tips, so that families continue discussing the importance of breakfast at home.

Related Health Powered Kids Blog

Rise and dine! The importance of a healthy breakfast

Additional Instructor Resources

ChooseMyPlate.gov
Article: Breakfast habits, nutritional status, body weight, and academic performance in children and adolescents
There Are Sneaky Sugars! – (Russian) – (Somali) – (Spanish)

Lesson Overview

This lesson helps young people discover “tricks of the trade” in food and beverage marketing. They practice comparing the messages conveyed through advertisements with the nutrition information available about different products.

Introduction

Explain to the youth that eating healthful foods is important to a person’s growth, development and overall well-being. Their eating behaviors in childhood will carry over into adulthood and contribute to their long-term health and risk for chronic (long-lasting) disease. One of the driving factors influencing eating behaviors and food choices of youth is food advertising. Food advertisers spend large amounts of money targeting children, in an attempt to build brand loyalty and to persuade them to desire a particular food product. It is important that children begin to develop the skills to navigate this complex media-saturated world they live in.

Activity: Exploring Advertisements

1. Advertisements are all around us. Ask young people to name some places they might encounter advertisements.
2. Show young people a variety of food and drink packages, print ads, and video clips. If possible, have multiple examples for several different products or families of products.
3. Other popular methods of marketing foods might be sweepstakes, contests or “clubs.” If one of these methods is used to market a product, then they must adhere to these rules:
   • If there is a prize, it should be clearly presented.
   • If there is an opportunity to win a prize, the odds of winning should be clearly stated. Share an example or two if available.
4. Ask young people to compare various marketing strategies used to sell the products. For each example, ask the following questions. (Depending on the size of your group, you may want to split the youth into small groups to each answer the questions about a different advertisement. If time permits, small groups may present their responses to the entire group.)
   • What methods were used to promote and sell the products? (e.g., animation, music, bright colors or celebrities)
   • How do these methods affect your thoughts and feelings about these products? Do the props make the product more interesting?
   • What is the message? (e.g., you’ll be stronger, smarter, have more fun if you eat/drink the product)
   • Do you believe it?
   • How does the portion size of the product shown compare to what a single serving might be? (e.g., sports drink packaged in 20 oz bottle is actually 2.5 servings)
   • How does the suggested or advertised portion compare to the amount you or your family/friends would usually consume? (They are likely to consume the entire packaged/portioned amount.)

Optional Interactive Activity

Young people can practice marketing “tricks of the trade” on CoCo’s AdverSmarts Interactive Food Marketing Game. See additional game formats below.

• (Desktop browser): CoCo’s AdverSmarts Interactive Food Marketing Game
• (Mobile browser): CoCo’s AdverSmarts Interactive Food Marketing Game
• Downloaded apps:
  • for iPhone
  • for iPad

Conclusion

Learning how to be savvy consumers is a skill that will serve young people well throughout their lifetimes and in many different contexts. Encourage them to pay particular attention in the days ahead to the messages that are all around them, and whether or not those messages are accurate or misleading.

Continuing the Conversation

Hand out the Healthy Families Newsletter in English or Spanish, so that families can practice spotting the youth-targeted marketing all around us.

Related Health Powered Kids Blog(s)

• Eating Healthy on a Budget
• Shopping for healthy foods

Additional Instructor Resources on Food Marketing to Children

• Make Good Fast Food Choices! – (Russian) – (Somali) – (Spanish)
• Center for Science in the Public Interest
• Weight of the Nation
• Public Health Law Center
• International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

Lesson Overview

This lesson helps young people understand the sugar content of popular beverages such as sodas, energy or sports drinks. The youth will measure out granulated white sugar so they can picture the true amount of sugar in these drinks. Young people will think of more healthful options to quench their thirst throughout the day.

Instructor Notes

Before facilitating this lesson, you may want to review the following information about sugar-sweetened drinks. These facts can be shared with young people during your discussions.

• Added sugars are sugars and syrups which are added to foods or beverages when they are made. Some foods have sugar that is naturally found in them, such as milk and fruit.
• Americans are drinking more sweetened beverages than ever before. Some beverages have as many as 500 calories. This can be up to a quarter of a person’s calorie needs for the day just in added sugars.
• Manufacturers will often target their advertising in hopes that if these drinks are purchased by consumers at an early age they will continue to be loyal buyers of that product into adulthood.
• The body needs fluids to keep healthy; meeting those needs with sweetened beverages is not a good idea and can lead to unhealthful consequences.

Introduction

1. Ask the youth about the types of beverages they and other young people typically drink. Common examples include sodas, sports drinks (Gatorade™, Powerade™, Vitamin Water™), energy drinks (Monster™, Red Bull™), and specialty coffee drinks (mochas, smoothies).
2. Ask the youth if they have ever thought about how much sugar has been added to the beverages? (Added sugar refers to sugars and syrups which are added to foods or beverages when they are made and do not occur naturally in the drink.) Added sugars can also be found in many other foods including cereal, yogurt and granola bars. Read the Sneaky Sugars handout to learn more about sneaky sugars hidden in common foods and beverages.
3. Ask the youth, why do you think it isn’t good to get too much added sugar? Show pictures or models as visual examples of health consequences as they share. Ask them for their ideas, but make sure they get this message:
   • Too much sugar is not good for your teeth—it can cause cavities.
   • Too much sugar is not good for your heart.
   • Too much added sugar each day can cause you to gain weight if your body doesn’t need those extra calories in one day.
   • We want most of what we eat and drink to be things that are good for our bodies and not fill up on things that are not healthful for us.

Activity

Explain to the youth that in this lesson we are going to see exactly how much added sugar is in some popular beverages. In order to do this we need to understand how to read and get the information we need off of the Nutrition Facts label for each type of drink. Show young people the Nutrition Facts Label handout by projecting the image on the board or printing it out. Point out a few significant statistics from the label (such as serving size, number of servings per container, total carbohydrate and sugars).

Tips to teach:

• One teaspoon of sugar has 16 calories.
• One teaspoon of sugar weighs 4 grams.

1. Ask for volunteers to demonstrate for the large group or divide young people into small groups. The youth will figure out how many teaspoons of added sugar are in some popular drinks. Pass out an empty beverage container, granulated sugar, measuring teaspoon and funnel (or sugar cubes) to the volunteers or small groups.
2. Have the youth calculate the added sugars by reading the information on the label.
   • Multiply the number of servings in the container by the number of grams per serving.
   • Divide that number by four to get the number of teaspoons of sugar per beverage. Young people may use calculators if they wish.
   • Use the funnel to carefully pour the granulated sugar into the empty bottle. Secure bottle top and pass around to emphasize the look, feel and weight of the amount of sugar dissolved in the typical soft drink.
3. Ask young people to share their findings with the class. You can see that you can get a lot of added sugar just from drinking popular beverages!
   • How many teaspoons of added sugar do you think might be OK in a healthy daily food plan? Ask them to guess a number, just for fun. The answer is about 3 teaspoons each day.
   • How does that compare with the number you might usually have each day, especially if you are having a beverage with high amounts of added sugar? For most young people it will be a lot less than what they are having each day.
4. Explain to the young people that our bodies need plenty of fluids, including water, every day but we need to find ways to make sure we’re not getting too much added sugar in our daily food plan. Ask the youth what options they might choose to drink instead of sugary drinks to stay hydrated and keep their bodies healthy? Wait for young people to answer but be sure they understand these items:
   • Remind young people that water is the best choice to drink throughout the day for thirst and staying hydrated. Water gets the job done. It quenches your thirst, keeps your skin healthy and glowing, and won’t cause tooth decay, chronic (long-lasting) diseases or gaining high amounts of weight.
   • Milk or a milk substitute is a healthful choice with meals and snacks because it’s full of nutrients your body needs.
   • 100% fruit juice doesn’t have any added sugars and can be healthful if you drink small amounts, no more than 4 to 6 ounces each day. (100% fruit juice doesn’t have all of the fiber and nutrients as whole fruit so it’s best to get most of your fruit servings by eating whole fruits instead).
   • What about diet pop and other diet drinks? Although they have no added sugars, they don’t have any nutrients that are good for our body either, so it is best to avoid filling up on diet drinks that do nothing to keep us healthy.

Conclusion

Challenge the youth to read the nutrition label of the next sweetened beverage they want to drink. How many calories and grams of sugar are in it? Remember how the white granulated sugar looks when it’s measured out, teaspoon by teaspoon. See if you can think of a more healthful option to quench your thirst!

Continuing the Conversation

Hand out the Healthy Families Newsletter in English or Spanish, so that families can talk about alternatives to sugary drinks from their pantries at home.

Additional Instructor Resources

• CDC Healthy Weight Information
• Sugary drinks: What every kid needs to know
• There Are Sneaky Sugars! – (Russian) – (Somali) – (Spanish)
• What Kind of Sugar is in Your Food? – (Russian) – (Somali) – (Spanish)
• Check the Nutrition Facts Label! – (Russian) – (Somali) – (Spanish)
• Reading the Food Label video

Lesson Overview

This lesson will help young people understand gluten allergy and gluten sensitivity. They will look for gluten in the food groups on MyPlate and think of ways to be kind to those who follow a gluten-free diet.

Instructor Notes

Before facilitating this lesson, you may want to review the following information about gluten-free diets. These facts can be shared with young people during your discussions.

• Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and triticale. (Experts recommend only consuming oats labeled gluten-free as cross-contact may occur when oats are grown side-by-side with wheat, barley or rye.) This includes a lot of foods you probably eat everyday like bread, cookies, crackers and pasta.
• The gluten in bread makes it soft and spongy. Gluten helps baked goods like bread, cakes and muffins rise and hold their shape. It also acts like glue to help food such as crackers to not crumble.
• There are many health claims surrounding following a gluten-free diet, some of which are not supported by scientific studies. Many believe that eating a gluten-free diet is healthier and will increase energy levels. This can be true if a well-executed gluten-free eating plan is established. It often means buying fewer processed foods and eating more fresh, fiber-rich fruits and vegetables. If not carefully planned gluten containing foods are often swapped for more highly processed foods, which is an unhealthful way of eating.
• Gluten is harmless for most people, except those with celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity.
• Celiac disease damages the small intestine and keeps the body from using nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot eat any food that has gluten. Their immune system responds to the gluten by damaging the small intestine. It can cause gas, bloating and diarrhea. They may also have a headache and feel really tired. If not treated it can affect growth and cause damage to the nervous system. It can also cause people to be malnourished.
• A gluten sensitivity is similar to celiac disease, but it does not damage the small intestine or affect growth and development. Eating gluten may cause someone with a gluten sensitivity to feel sick, but the person’s body will still be able to use the nutrients from the food he or she eats. Other symptoms someone may have who is gluten sensitive is “foggy mind”, depression, abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, gas, constipation, headaches, bone or joint pain, and chronic fatigue when they eat gluten containing foods. They will want to eat gluten-free so they feel better every day.
• Food you eat has many nutrients (vitamins, minerals and calories) to help you be healthy. When people who shouldn’t eat foods with gluten in them do, their bodies will not be able to use the nutrients as they should.
• Common gluten-free grains include rice, corn (maize), soy, potatoes, beans, quinoa (KEEN-wah), tapioca, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, flax, chia seeds, teff, nut flours and gluten-free oats. Despite the name “buckwheat”, there is no wheat or gluten found in buckwheat and instead it is actually a relative to rhubarb.
• Other gluten-free foods include fruits, vegetables, fresh meat and eggs.
• It isn’t always clear which foods have gluten in them. It can be very challenging to try to eat only foods that are gluten-free. People who have to eat this way get very good at reading nutrition fact labels to see if a food is gluten-free or not.
• People who have food allergies, sensitivities or other restrictions often have to deal with people not understanding their situation. Sometimes other people can be unkind about it, or put their friends at risk by not being careful.

Introduction

Give some background on gluten and gluten-free foods.

• Show the youth grains that have gluten: wheat, rye, barley.
• Show the youth examples of grains that do not have gluten, such as rice, quinoa, corn and others listed above.
• Show the youth how on MyPlate the gluten-free grains fit into the same orange section as the grains with gluten.

Activity: Gluten-free Foods on MyPlate

Go to MyPlate. Click on each food group, one at a time, to explore which foods are gluten-free. Within each food group, click on “View Food Gallery” and click through the slideshow to have the young people guess which of the foods are gluten-free.

• Fruit: All gluten-free.
• Vegetables: All gluten-free.
• Grains: Brown rice, popcorn and white rice are gluten-free. (Note: Many cereals have other things added to them that have gluten even if they are made from corn. Cornbread is only gluten-free if it is made in a special way without regular flour.)
• Protein: All fresh cuts of meat, nuts and seeds and beans are gluten free. (Note: Deli meat is usually not gluten-free unless it is made especially for people who cannot eat gluten. The gluten-free deli meats will be labeled “gluten-free.”
• Dairy: Milk, soymilk and cheese are gluten-free. (Note:  Yogurt, pudding and frozen yogurt may all have gluten in them because of added flavorings. Always check the label to see if a product is gluten-free.)
• Oils: All oils are gluten-free as long as the one type of oil is the only ingredient in the ingredient list.
• Special consideration: Even though potatoes are naturally gluten free, when you deep fry them to make French Fries they can be cross contaminated with other gluten foods that were fried in the same oil.

Activity: Gluten-free Birthday Party

1. Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of someone who needs to avoid gluten. We are going to act out a story about a birthday party. A boy named Logan has celiac disease and needs to avoid eating gluten. All of his friends can eat foods with gluten, including the tasty birthday cake. As you are acting out the story, remember how hard it would be for someone like Logan to not be able to eat the same food as his friends.
2. Read the following story out loud: Logan has celiac disease. On Friday night, he goes to his friend Andrew’s birthday party. A birthday cake made with wheat flour is served, but there is also a special cupcake for Logan. Some of the other friends tease Logan and are rude. They seem to be jealous about the special treatment. Alex stands up for his friend Logan and helps explain that celiac is a serious disease.
3. Break the youth up into small groups to act out the story. Walk around and offer ideas for what Alex could say when he stands up for Logan. If young people need prompting in how to address the topic in a positive way, Alex could respond that he wanted everyone to feel special at the birthday party without excluding anybody for any reason.  The gluten-free cupcake was just one consideration of the needs of the friends invited to the party.
4. Then ask for a few volunteers or one small group to act out their storyline to the entire group. Discuss.

Activity: Word Find

Pass out the Gluten Word Find and instruct young people to find all 18 foods that contain gluten. The answers can be found on the Gluten Word Find Answer Key.

Conclusion

Remind young people that it can be very challenging to try to eat only foods that are gluten-free. Ask the youth to pay attention to nutrition labels and notice how many of the things they eat contain gluten. If they have a classmate or friend who can’t eat gluten, think of ways they help that person from being left out when food or treats are given out at special events.

Continuing the Conversation

Hand out the Healthy Families Newsletter in English or Spanish, so that families can practice spotting gluten in their meals at home.

Related Health Powered Kids Blog(s)

The dish on gluten

What you need to know about food allergies

Food Allergy Awareness for the School Year

Additional Instructor Resources

Does My Child Need a Gluten-Free Diet?

Gluten-Free Diet

Lesson Overview 

This lesson helps young people get acquainted with MyPlate and how it can be used as a visual tool for a lifetime of healthy eating. They will explore the food groups that are represented on MyPlate and analyze a meal of their own by drawing it on a paper plate. Finally, youth will reflect on the food they eat and how they can make more balanced meal choices in the future.

Introduction

Ask the youth: Why do we need to learn about the right foods to eat, and how much food to eat?

Allow the young people time to give their answers, but make sure they understand:

• Eating healthful food keeps our brain, heart, muscles, and bones growing and developing well. The right amount of food helps us feel good and have plenty of energy. It even helps us learn better in school.
• If we eat too much of certain foods and not enough of others, we could end up hurting instead of helping our bodies.

Tell the youth that one way to learn about healthful foods, and healthful amounts of food, is with MyPlate.

Ask the young people: What do you know about MyPlate?

MyPlate is a tool that helps show us what kinds of foods we should eat every day and how much of those foods we should eat. Its message is simple: eating a variety of colorful foods from the five food groups at each meal helps our bodies stay healthy.

Note: Instructors should be aware of young people with special nutrition needs including food allergies and intolerances. Instructors should clarify to those young people that it is okay that they follow special food guidelines set by their parents and/or doctors.

Activity: Getting to know MyPlate

Explore each section of section of MyPlate on the interactive whiteboard lesson (see What You Need) or the ChooseMyPlate.Gov website. Click on each of the sections and read some examples aloud. Discuss the information about the foods included in the different food groups.

• Click on the Grains section, to see the differences between whole and refined grains. Emphasize that we want at least half of our grains to come from whole, unprocessed sources.

• Click on the Vegetables section to see the five subgroups of vegetables. Emphasize that the deeper, darker colored vegetables will be higher in nutritional value.

• Click on the Fruits section to see whether frozen or canned fruits are okay, and also to see whether or not 100% fruit juice counts as a fruit.

• Click on the Dairy section to see what kind of dairy foods are best to choose.

• Click on the Protein Foods section to see what kinds of choices are best and how to get variety.

• Fats and Oils (butter, mayonnaise, oils found in fried foods) are not considered a food group, but are part of one’s daily food intake.

• If using the interactive whiteboard lesson, practice by sorting the foods into the food groups. Can you name other foods to put in the different sections of MyPlate?

Activity: Color Your Plate

Just for fun, let’s think about a meal we’ve eaten recently. It’s time to bring out the paper plates! Pass out paper plates to young people.

Ask young people to draw, list, or cut and paste the foods they had for one meal on their paper plate. Remind them to include drinks.  For example, if they had a grilled cheese sandwich and milk, those items could be listed, drawn, or cut and glued onto the plate.

When the group is finished, review the paper plate activity and invite young people to share with the class what is on their plate:

• How does your plate compare with MyPlate?

• What food item could you add to include more food groups?

• What food/drink could you have less of or substitute with another food/drink to make it more like MyPlate?

• Are there any food items on your plate that are not part of the five food groups?  (fats, oils, added sugars)

Remind the youth that eating foods not in the five food groups is OK in small amounts as long as they are eating most of their foods for the day from the five food groups.

Conclusion

Continuing the Conversation

Hand out the Healthy Families Newsletter in English or Spanish so that families can continue discussing healthy meals at home.

Additional Instructor Resources

• Build A Healthful Bagged Lunch! – (Russian) – (Somali) – (Spanish)
• Build A Healthful School Lunch! – (Russian) – (Somali) – (Spanish)
• Check the Nutrition Facts Label! – (Russian) – (Somali) – (Spanish)
• Mix-And-Match-to-Build-a-Healthful-Lunch!
• MyPlate: Introducing MyPlate video
• Choose A Variety of Foods Video
• Putting MyPlate Into Action video