Nutrition

About Nutrition

About Nutrition Activity: Eating Healthy

Background Information

Along with teaching about the digestive system, it is important that youth understand the importance of what they put into their bodies. The following information may help the youth understand the Food Guide Pyramid. Be sure to emphasize that the right combination of food will provide the nutrients every part of the body (brain, hear, eyes, bones, etc.) needs to function at its highest potential.

The Food Guide Pyramid is a guide to help people choose healthy foods. Its was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and replaces the Basic Four food groups that many adults and youth have learned. The Pyramid has fine (not just four) major food groups-and a separate category at the tip of the Pyramid that is a special reminder to limit the amount of fat and sugar we eat. None of the major food groups is more important than the other. For good health, people need them all.

Key ideas about the Pyramid that kids can understand:

Foods can be divided into distinct groups

There are five major groups

Some food from each group should be eaten every day

There is another category called fats, oils, and sweets

Some foods or food groups should be eaten more often than other food groups

Key ideas about the Pyramid that kids may have difficulty understanding:

No one food group has more or less importance than another

Different food groups have different numbers of servings recommended

Each food groups has a range of servings recommended

Fat and sugar may be naturally occurring or added

Naturally occurring and added fat and sugar should be used sparingly

A graphic and additional information on the Food Guide Pyramid can be located on the web at the following locations:
http://frost.ca.uky.edu/agripedia/glossary/foodpyra.htm http://www.basf.com/businesses/consumer/humannutrition/health/pyramid_power.html http://www.nal.usda.gov:8001/py/pmap.htm http://www.hawkesbury.uws.edu.au/~skurrayg/pyramid.jpg