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Diet and Nutrition (October 4, 2002, One)

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Program Summary

High fat, low carbs? Low fat, high protein? The Mediterranean diet? Atkins? Ornish? In the first hour, Ira Flatow talks with experts about diet, nutrition, and health with an eye on the variety of diet plans. Diet books top every best-seller list but often disagree with each other on the best way to eat a healthy diet and obtain optimal nutrition. What should dieters do? Hear from diet heavyweights including Dean Ornish and experts from the Atkins Center. Discover their personal thoughts on winning the battle of the bulge. Learn more about recent recommendations on diet and health put forward by the National Academy of Sciences

Guests

Related Links and Resources

Nutrition Action Healthletter. An entertaining format and blunt honesty characterize this online publication listing the best and worst fast foods and much more from the Center from Science in the Public Interest. This a nonprofit education and advocacy organization works to improve the safety and nutritional quality of our food supply and to reduce the problems caused by alcoholic beverages. Some content is free and subscriptions are available.

Food and Nutrition Resources for Teachers pulls information together. Funded since 1971, the Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC) adds content to this Web site located at the National Agricultural Library (NAL), part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Find out about dietary supplements and guidelines, food composition, the food guide pyramid and more.

For answers to questions about kids and cholesterol screening, go to Cholesterol Screening at Keepingkidshealthy.com.

Two exercise gurus created The Fitness Jumpsite to promote a lifestyle of fitness, nutrition, and health. It is mainly for teachers, but kids could enjoy the activity calorie calculator where the they learn how many calories a body burns during 158 activities that exemplify an active lifestyle. Type in your weight and duration of the activity, then press, “Show me!”

Go to The Food and Nutrition Page for answers to questions about overweight and obesity found at the Centers for Disease Control. This is a Q&A format with straightforward answers and resources for children and teens. You also can link to a nutrition and physical activity page.

For Discussion:

1. Experts say that eating too much of something, such as too much fat or too many simple carbohydrates leads to excess weight. But, experts don’t agree exactly on the culprit and a variety of diets result. Where can kids go to find out what really matters when it comes to dieting?

2. There is more to weight loss than restricting food. How important is exercise as part of dieting? What kind of exercise is best? If you are not a school athlete, where can you go in your community to participate in regular beneficial exercise? What can you suggest for kids who don’t think that exercise is fun?

3. How important is dietary fiber to healthy eating? Where do you find foods with fiber? Can you locate and share recipes packed with fiber that also pass a kids’ taste test?

4. When choosing a way to lose weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle, why is a science-based diet still the best route even if other fad diets “work?”

5. For what reasons do children have special diets? Why are some children on diets that restrict gluten? Why must other young people have their cholesterol levels checked? How can friends be helpful when children are on special diets?

Activities

Dispel ten current myths that teens are likely to hear about nutrition using a ThinkQuest web site about teen health. Also tune in to useful tools by trying out an interactive calculator that computes Basal (BMR) and Active Metabolic Rates (AMR) that can bring focus to an exercise routine. Try out the interactive feature that pinpoints a personal Recommended Daily Allowance and a “NutriQuiz” testing general knowledge with instant answers and weight-losing facts.

Experts readily give “high fives” to daily doses of fruits and vegetables for better health. Teachers can get free “5 A Day” educational materials, from Dole Food Company at 1-800-232-8888. Find more at http://www.dole5aday.com.

Log on for lesson plans that hit the health mark at The Discovery Channel. Quests for Better Health offers ideas about diet and reducing health risks and disease. Here’s to Your Healthy Heart! examines the controllable as well as the uncontrollable risk factors for heart disease. Try Eat Right, Stay Fit--Health/Human Body for activities related to a healthy eating habits while drawing connections among metabolism, calories and diet.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry gets to the heart of problems of teens who have weight problems. The Facts for Families brochure #79 offers insights, ideas, and links to related topics including strategies for weight control by children who add pounds because they eat while watching TV.

You Are What You Eat is a New York Times lesson plan that helps students judge the nutritional components of their diets. Kids evaluate their eating habits with an eye on ultimate nutrition. Small groups design and justify healthy menu choices. The project includes keeping a week-long food diary and formulating an essay discussing food choices and improvements. Reading a news story, “Choosing Right to Make Healthiest and Tastiest One and the Same,” can start things rolling.

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

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