Learner Outcomes
After completion of the lesson, students will be able to:
- explain how the Food Guide Pyramid relates to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
- plan a day's healthful diet using the Food Guide Pyramid
- use food labels to make informed food choices within the food groups of the Pyramid
Materials
- "Food Guide Pyramid" poster
- food packages and labels, representing all five major food groups and the Pyramid tip
- large signs with the names of the five major food groups and the Pyramid tip
- chalkboard, chalk (before class, write serving sizes and serving ranges from the Pyramid on the board)
- "Build Your Pyramid" activity sheet (page 43), one copy per student
Label Facts
Few things in life come without some how-to advice. In the case of healthful eating, the advice is very clear-cut: Follow the Food Guide Pyramid!
The Pyramid—Just for You!
- It visually tells you how to follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
- It shows you how to eat a variety of foods to get the nutrients you need each day from each of the five major food groups. Each food group supplies different nutrients.
- It helps you get the right amount of calories—for you—to grow and maintain your healthy weight.
- It helps you eat a balanced diet with enough, but not too much, of any one food or food group.
- It helps you eat a moderate amount of fats and sugars.
- Last, it offers flexible advice, helping you choose a healthful diet—even learn to enjoy some new foods—that's just right for you!
Here's how to climb the Pyramid to your good health:
- Choose foods from all five major food groups in the Pyramid's three lower levels. Each group provides some, but not all, the nutrients you need. That's why you can't replace a food in one group for a food in another.
- Within each food group, choose variety, too. Even similar foods, such as vegetables, differ in their nutrient content.
- Look at the range of servings for each food group—and eat at least the lowest number recommended for each of the five food groups. That helps ensure that you get enough important nutrients.
The number of servings you need each day depends on you—your age, gender and activity level—and how many calories you need for growth, energy and good health. You may need more—or less—than your best friend does. Remember, you may need more if you're involved in strenuous activities, such as football or swimming. But if you spend your leisure time watching television or walking around the mall, you probably need less. (Better yet, you need to get active!)
- Pay attention to serving sizes so you eat enough without overdoing. The chart on the next page shows what counts as a single serving on the Food Guide Pyramid. Sometimes it's different from the serving size on a food label. For example, on the label a serving of fruit juice is 8 ounces; on the Pyramid it's 6 ounces.
- Go easy on fats, oils and sweets. They add enjoyment to meals and snacks. Just enjoy them in moderation, along with enough foods from the five major food groups.
The good news from the Pyramid is this: In moderation, every food fits into a healthful diet. No foods are "good" or "bad." So you don't need to give up any food to eat healthy. You just need to remember balance, variety and moderation, so you get the right amounts of calories and nutrients every day.
What Counts as a Pyramid Serving?
-
Breads, Cereals, Rice, and Pasta
- 1 slice of bread
- 1/2 bagel or l/2 English muffin
- 1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta
- 1/2 cup of cooked cereal
- 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal
Vegetables
- 1/2 cup of chopped raw or cooked vegetables
- 1 cup of leafy raw vegetables
Fruits
- 1 piece of fruit or melon wedge
- 3/4 cup of juice
- 1/2 cup of canned fruit
- 1/4 cup of dried fruit
Milk, Yogurt and Cheese
- 1 cup of milk or yogurt
- 1 l/2 to 2 ounces of cheese
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts
- 2 1/2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry or fish
- Count l/2 cup of cooked beans, or 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, or 1/3 cup of nuts as 1 ounce of lean meat (about 1/3 serving).
Fats, Oils and Sweets
- Limit these, especially if you need to lose weight.
How Many Servings a Day?
| Calorie Level |
about 1,600 |
about 2,200 |
about 2,800 |
| Bread group |
6 |
9 |
11 |
| Vegetable group |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| Fruit group |
2 |
3 |
4 |
| Milk group |
2-3* |
2-3* |
2-3* |
| Meat group |
2, for a total
of 5 ounces |
2, for a total
of 6 ounces |
3, for a total
of 7 ounces |
| *Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding, teenagers, and young adults to age 24 need 3 servings |
The Label Link
Within each food group and the Pyramid tip, food labels give information to compare one food with another and make smart food choices. You might, for example, use the label to choose a food from the meat group that has less fat, yet is high in iron. Or read the label before you buy frozen vegetables; the label, for example, may show that broccoli with sauce has more fat than plain broccoli.
There's another way to control fat, sugar and calories. With labels, just make trade-offs—and still follow the Pyramid guidelines. Trade-offs are easy. You simply use the label! When you choose a food high in fat, sugars or sodium, select other foods that are low in these same nutrients to balance your total diet.
Here's an example: Read the labels on milk cartons. If you buy low-fat milk, you'll save on calories and fat without giving up calcium. Then spend some of your savings on a small serving of ice cream for an after-school snack.
Trade-offs don't need to be in the same food group. The amount of fat, sugar and calories in your whole diet counts, not the amount in one food or one meal.
Let's read more labels: A switch from regular to lean meat saves fat and calories. You might spend your calorie savings on more carbohydrate-rich foods: grains, fruits and vegetables.
Trading off leaves a little room in your food choices for some foods with more fat or sugars, including those from the Pyramid tip. Again, read the label: Instead of a rich dessert, enjoy fresh fruit for dessert. (Remember, you may find nutrition information for fresh produce at the supermarket, too.) Then, if you'd like, have a cookie later.
If you learn how to moderate and balance your food choices, you can eat healthy all the way up the Pyramid. And food labels offer nutrition facts to make smart food choices—for you!
Learning Strategies
- Brainstorm "the ten top reasons ... for reading a food label." This will review students' labeling knowledge and introduce the Food Guide Pyramid. Responses may be general or food specific. Point out: Reading a food label also helps you make food choices within the Food Guide Pyramid.
- Using the poster, present the Food Guide Pyramid. Explain: The Food Guide Pyramid puts the Dietary Guidelines (see page 6) in action.
Ask: What does this Pyramid tell you about food choices that promote your health? Point out: The Pyramid is a food selection guide that helps you choose a diet that's varied, moderate and balanced—and just right for you. Identify the food groups and Pyramid tip.
- To explore variety within the Pyramid, have students classify all the food packages and labels into the five food groups and the Pyramid tip. The product name and ingredient list on the food label can help them. Place the food group labels by each category. (Have them place combination foods—foods from two or more food groups—in a separate category.) Point out: All these foods fit within a healthful diet.
Have students study labels to identify key nutrients in each food group. Ask: What do the Nutrition Facts tell about the main nutrients in each group? Note: bread group—carbohydrates, iron in enriched and fortified grain products, fiber among whole grains; vegetable group—vitamins A and C, some fiber; fruit group—vitamins A and C; milk group—protein and calcium; meat group—protein and iron; fruit and vegetable groups—no cholesterol.
Ask: Looking at the labels, which food groups tend to have more fat? Sugars? Refer to the symbols on the poster for fat and sugars. Point out: Foods with more fat and sugars fit within a healthful diet—in moderation.
Point out: Some foods belong in more than one food group. Ask: What do the ingredient list and Nutrition Facts panel tell you about these combination foods?
Explain: To eat a balanced diet with enough nutrients, you need to follow the Pyramid's recommendations for serving amounts—and eat at least the minimum amount. Serving amounts depend on your calorie level; have students recall their calorie levels from lesson 2, then find how many servings they need each day.
- Compare serving sizes. Refer to the serving sizes, written on the board, for each food group in the Pyramid. Discuss why serving sizes are important.
Again using the food labels, have students compare serving sizes on the Pyramid with those on the label. Note differences. Ask: How can serving sizes on food labels help you follow the Pyramid's advice?
- Plan a sample day's menu using food labels. Ask: How could food labels help you choose healthful meals and snacks for a whole day?
Discuss: To plan healthful meals and snacks for a day, first know your calorie level (refer to lesson 2). Then choose meals and snacks with enough food group servings from the Pyramid to match your calorie level. Add up the calories and the %Daily Values for nutrients, cholesterol and fiber. Use the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels to choose foods that add up to your nutrient and calorie needs.
As a class, use the food labels to plan a sample day's menu—with snacks—for 17-year-old Mina. Besides studying, she trains almost daily for the swim team. She needs about 2,500 calories a day. Have students determine how many servings she needs from each food group and her day's goal for %Daily Values (from all her food choices. (Refer to the activity sheet for lesson 2 for specific amounts of nutrients.) Point out: Mina enjoys some foods—in moderation—from the Pyramid tip.
- Using food packages and labels, make trade-offs. Explain the concept of trade-offs: using the label to choose foods low in fat, sugars or sodium if another food is higher in these nutrients; that way you can balance your total diet. Show an example, such as choosing low-fat instead of whole milk to save calories and fat, then enjoying a serving of ice cream. Using labels, have students practice making tradeoffs in Mina's Menu.
- Have students create their own day's menu, following Pyramid guidelines. Distribute the activity sheet "Build Your Pyramid." On their personal pyramids, have students record their food and beverage choices for one day, including serving sizes. Then have them use Pyramid guidelines, along with nutrition information from food labels, to judge their meals and snacks. Students might use the food label "data bank" from lesson 1 to gather their Nutrition Facts.
Have them calculate and compare the calories, fat, fiber, calcium, and iron in their personal Pyramids and compare the totals with their target %Daily Value from lesson 2. Ask: What changes or trade-offs might you make to improve your overall diet?
To Learn More...
- "Top Ten" Label Countdown. Listings of the "top ten ..." always grab reader interest. From the lesson, have students creatively adapt their "best ten" reasons for reading a food label for an attention-grabbing article in the school paper or for a cafeteria poster.
- Label Rap. Have students work in groups to summarize all they're learned about labeling and the Food Guide Pyramid in an original rap song. Have them perform their label rap as a way to "wrap up" this unit! (Hint: They might use food packages for props.)
- Consumer Brochure. Have students write an easy-to-read brochure to help teenager shoppers use food labels. They might create graphics to tell the label story.
Build Your Pyramid
Is your personal Pyramid well balanced ... or just a bit on-the-edge? Where do your favorite foods fit in the Pyramid? How can you use food labels to make smart food choices, without giving up foods you like best?
Build your own Pyramid with a whole day's worth of your meals and snacks. Write down all the foods you eat and beverages you drink, including serving sizes, for one day.
When you're done, use food labels to write in the calories and the %Daily Values for fat, fiber, calcium, and iron. Then compare them to your goals. You may need to take a trip to the grocery store to read a few labels.
How did you build your personal Pyramid? Did you get enough of each food group? How did your calories and %Daily Values stack up?
On the back of this sheet write at least three changes--or trade-offs—you might make to make your whole day's food choices even better.
