Balanced Diets

• A diet refers to the selection of foods we eat every day.
• A balanced diet contains sufficient quantities of food from all four nutrient groups, as well as water and fibre.
• Some diseases can be related to a diet.

• Greet the learners.
• Ask them what they can remember about food groups: Can they remember the four food groups and their functions in the body?
  • foods for energy – carbohydrates
  • foods for growth and repair – proteins
  • foods for storing energy (in the form of body fats) and providing insulation and protection for nerves and organs – fats and oils
  • foods for building bones and teeth, and maintaining a healthy immune system – vitamins and minerals
• Tell learners that to refresh their memories about the food groups, they are going to watch a fun video called “Planning for good eating”.
• Show VIDEO CLIP 1: Planning for Good Eating (8:28 min.).  
• Lead a short discussion on the contents of the video.
• Ask learners if they think it is good for our bodies when we eat broccoli. Ask them for reasons why.

E.g. It contains Vitamin A and Calcium.

• Ask them if they think we should all switch our diets and only eat broccoli from now on.

Answers can include:  No, it is boring; We also need other nutrients in our bodies; Too much of a good thing is not always good.

• Tell learners that we have already learnt in previous lessons and from the video that our bodies need foods from all the food groups. This is called a balanced diet.
• Tell learners that we cannot eat equal amounts from all the food groups; we need to know how much we should eat from each food group every day to stay healthy.
• Explain that the next video the learners will watch, shows what needs to be on a plate when we eat.

Show VIDEO CLIP 2:  What’s on your Plates, Kids? (2:24 min.).  

• After learners have watched the video draw a picture of a plate on the blackboard. Divide the plate into 4 sections.  Explain to learners that we need to:
  • eat different types of foods from the four food groups each day;
  • eat lots of plant based food (including rice, pasta, vegetables, legumes and fruit);
  • eat moderate amounts of animal foods (milk, yoghurt, cheese, meat, fish, poultry and eggs);
  • eat small amounts of oils and fats (margarine and cooking oil);
  • make sure that we eat enough vitamins and minerals;
  • and drink plenty of water.

• Learners play The My Plate Match Game on the internet.
• Learners complete WORKSHEET A: The Food Plate.
• Guide the learners on how to undertake this activity by providing examples and explaining how this worksheet will be assessed.

• Tell the learners that in the previous activity, we investigated the different types of food that we need to eat on a daily basis to have a balanced diet. We need to understand the importance of the different types of food we eat.
• Present an overview of the different types (and amounts) of food that we need to eat to have a balanced diet by using PRESENTATION 1: Balanced Diet
• Show VIDEO CLIP 3: A Balanced Diet (5:40 min.).  

In this video the learners will learn about a balanced diet. A diet, which contains all the nutrients, namely carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and fats in right amounts, is called a balanced diet.  It should also contain sufficient amounts of dietary fibre and water.

• Ask learners if they think that they have a balanced diet. Tell them that they are going to evaluate their diets to find out if this is the case.

• Divide the class into groups of 5.
• Hand out WORKSHEET B: Evaluating my Diet for learners to complete.
• Learners must discuss their favourite meal options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The groups will then select one of each option to evaluate.
• After the activity, let groups give feedback on what they have discussed and written down and ensure that the learners’ understanding is correct.
• Guide the learners on how to undertake this activity by providing examples and explaining how this worksheet will be assessed.

• Provide learners with old magazines and supermarket advertisements.
• Hand out WORKSHEET C: Healthy and Unhealthy meals.
• Let learners select and stick pictures of healthy and unhealthy meals on their worksheets.
• Guide the learners on how to undertake this activity by providing examples and explaining how this worksheet will be assessed.

• Ask the learners what they think would happen if people do not eat healthy food for a long time.

Possible answers:  they will become weak or ill; they might lose their hair or teeth; they might get sores on their bodies.

• Ask the learners: Why do you think people do not have healthy diets?

Possible answers: 

• It is easier to buy takeaways, because parents work and they are too tired to cook.
• Some people don’t like vegetables and fruit.
• Some families cannot afford to eat from all the food groups.
• Present an overview of the cause and consequences of an unhealthy diet by using PRESENTATION 2: Causes of a Poor Diet.  Do not explain the meanings of the diseases and conditions on the last slide yet.  Learners will discover this in the next activity.

• Hand out Worksheets D1 and D2 for this activity.
• Once learners have completed the activity, check that their selections are correct before they paste their answer strips on Worksheet D1.

• Teacher to use WORKSHEET D: MEMORANDUM to mark the learners’ work.