Understanding Nutrition Labels Investigation

Objectives

Students will:

  • learn about the nutrition facts labels found on food items and how they can make healthy choices based on the information published on the labels.
  • learn about claims that can be found on food labels and what specific terms such as “light.” “good source,” and “free” mean.
  • learn how to calculate the number of calories from the amount of fat in foods.
  • learn about the trends in portion sizes.
Materials Needed

Three or four cereal bowls

Two boxes of cereal with nutrition labels covered or removed

Measuring cups

Poster board

Nutrition facts labels from five or more cereal boxes

Nutrition facts labels from five or more snack boxes

Nutrition facts labels from five or more packaged a-la-carte snack items from the school cafeteria

Teacher Resource: “Eating Healthier and Feeling Better Using the Nutrition Facts Label” from

Teacher Resource: “Food Labels: Nutrient Content Claims” from

_label_nutrition.pdf

Teacher Resource: “Trends in Portion Sizes” from

Handout: “Is Your Food a Healthy Choice?” from _facts.pdf

Handout: “How to Calculate Percent of Calories from Fat” from

_calories.pdf

Handout: “Nutrient Search” from

_search.pdf

Procedure

  1. Place two boxes of cereal, cereal bowls, and measuring cups on a work space. Allow each student to pour an amount of cereal he/she would eat for breakfast. Direct students to measure and record how much they put into the bowl. After everyone has taken a turn, ask one student to read aloud the serving size found in the nutrition facts label. Ask students if their portions were the same, more or less than the label serving. Direct each student to plot his/her portion amount on a poster-sized bar graph. Include a comparison bar that shows the serving size listed on the label.
  1. Using the resources “Eating Healthier and Feeling Better Using the Nutrition Facts Label,” “Food Labels: Nutrient Content Claims,” and “Trends in Portion Sizes” emphasize serving sizes and discuss how healthy food choices can be made by reading the nutrition facts label. Include in the discussion the difference between nutrition facts and nutrient content claims.
  1. Talk to the students about the Percent Daily Value (% DV):
  2. Percent Daily Value of five percent or less for a nutrient is considered low in that nutrient.
  3. Percent Daily Value of between ten and nineteen percent for a nutrient is considered a good source of that nutrient.
  4. Percent Daily Value of twenty percent or greater for a nutrient is considered high in that nutrient.
  5. Healthier choices have a lower Percent Daily Value for total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium and higher Percent Daily Value for total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, vitamins A and C, and calcium and iron.
  1. Distribute the “Is Your Food A Healthy Choice?” handout. Instruct students to work in pairs and select a nutrition facts labels from the cereal, snack or packaged a-la-carte snack items to complete the worksheet.
  1. Direct students to use “How to Calculate Percent of Calories from Fat” handout to determine the percent of calories from fat for the item.
  1. Direct students to develop a bar or circle graph comparing labels for the
    following:
  2. sugar in breakfast cereal
  3. total fat in snacks
  4. calories in packaged a-la-carte snack items
  1. Distribute and instruct students to complete the “Nutrient Search” handout using the nutrition facts labels from the cereal, snack, or packaged a-la-carte snack items. As a class, discuss which snacks or cereals would provide the most fat and which snacks would be good sources of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, or iron.

Check for Understanding

Students should be able to respond to verbal questions about the nutrition facts label, calculating the percent of calories from fat, and portions verses serving size.

Source:

MathScience360.org