Obesity; One Consequence of Poor Eating Habits

Strand 3:
Individual and Community Health

Outcome:
5.6 a student analyses attitudes, behaviours and consequences related to health issues affecting young people.

Students Learn About:
> Healthy Food Habits
- disordered eating
- diets, dieting, exercise and energy balance

Student Learn To:
- investigate factors that influence food choices e.g. culture and customs, gender and media

Stimulus:
Better Health Article

Scope of Task:
Students will develop on previous knowledge of healthy food habits and their own interpretations of obesity. They will identify factors that lead to an increased risk of obesity and the risk factors that obesity places on the human body. Students will explore and develop strategies that promote and reduce the occurrence of obesity.

Activity Outline:
1. Students will read a brief overview of obesity from the Better Heath Channel.
2. They will then answer a series of questions related to the article.
3. Students will then calculate their daily calorie intake from the food facts website. After counting their daily intake they will then visit the calorie calculator to calculate their daily needs. Once a few details are entered students can match up the calories and see if they are closely number or outnumbered.
4. Students will then answer final questions based on the calorie calculator.

Activity 1:
As a class students will take it in turns to read the following article aloud: http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Obesity?open

Activity 1: Questions
After reading the article titled “Obesity” students will fill in the missing word.
1. Energy consumed form food and drink is measured in ____________.
2. Obesity in Australia is on the ____________.
3. BMI stands for ____________________.
4. Lifestyle diseases are _______________
5. True or false: Obesity can lead to cardiovascular diseases? ___.
6. True or false: Genes can predispose on individual to obesity? ___.
7. True or false: Has modern living and technologies helped increases the rate of obesity in Australia? ___.
8. True or false: Obesity is a preventable lifestyle disease? ___.

Activity 2:
Before going to a computer think of all the foods and drink you consumed yesterday and write them down. In pairs go to http://www.healthyeatingclub.org/info/books-phds/books/foodfacts/html/data/data2a.html.
Using the list of foods you consumed yesterday calculate your average daily kilojoule intake. Record how many kilojoules/calories each food item is worth, then after all food values have been found total the kilojoules.
Compare your results with another group.
Then go to the energy needs calculator and supply a few basic details (age, sex, weight and height) and see if your calorie count matches up with your total. http://www.weightloss.com.au/weight-loss-tools/energy-needs-calculator.htm

Take Home Note:
1. Energy is taken into the body from food
2. Energy is expended in metabolism and physical activity
WEIGHT GAIN occurs when energy intake exceeds energy expended
WEIGHT LOSS occurs when energy intake is less than energy expenditure
WEIGHT STABILITY results when energy intake and energy expenditure are the same.

Finishing Question??
So based on your calorie intake and energy expenditure are you going to lose, gain or have a stable weight based on these facts and figures? In pairs suggest ways in which you can fix your imbalance if you have one.

NOTE: these facts and figures are based on averages and there will be some cases where individual results will differ and hence affect testing results and comparisons.