Food Choices• Teen years demand more nutrients and calories than any other time

of life• Poor Diet could lead to…..• Heart Disease• Obesity• Cancer• Osteoporosis• Anemia

• Can also impact performance levels

Healthy Diet for TeensAim for Fitness

• Aim for a healthy weight• Be physically active each day• Make good food choices

Build a Healthy Base• Choose variety of grains (whole)• Choose variety of fruits & vegetables• Keep food safe to eat• Eat foods high in sugar and saturated fat in moderation

HEALTHY DIET FOR TEENS

Choose Sensibly• Low in saturated fat and cholesterol• Choose beverage and foods to moderate intake of sugars• Choose and prepare foods with less salt

What can Food Labels do for You?

• Compare one food with another

• Choose foods that help provide balance of nutrients for your body’s needs

• Plan meals and your whole diet so they are moderate, varied, and balanced

Serving Size • Start at the top – check out the serving size and how many servings

first!! • The size of the serving on the food package influences the number of calories

and all the nutrient amounts listed on the top part of the label.

• Ask yourself, "How many servings am I consuming"? (e.g., 1/2 serving, 1 serving, or more)

Check Calories• Total calories per serving • If there are 2 servings in the container multiply the number of

calories by 2.• 250 calories X 2 = 500 calories in this container

• Calories from fat• This tells you the amount of the total calories that come from fat• 110/250 = .44 X 100 = 44% of the calories in this food come from fat

Nutrients

• Limit these nutrients

• The nutrients listed first are the ones Americans generally eat in adequate amounts, or even too much.

• Eating too much fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, or sodium may increase your risk of certain chronic diseases, like heart disease, some cancers, or high blood pressure.

Nutrients• Get enough of these

• Most Americans don't get enough dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron in their diets.

• Eating enough of these nutrients can improve your health and help reduce the risk of some diseases and conditions.

Footnote• Lists the percent Daily Values for each nutrient based

on a 2,000 calorie diet•Does not change from product to product•May not appear on all food labels if the size of the

label is too small

Percent Daily Value• Based on a 2000 calorie diet

• The % DV helps you determine if a serving of food is high or low in a nutrient.

• 5% DV or less is low and 20% DV or more is high

Ingredient List • Largest amount of ingredient must be listed first on

down to smallest amount

• Special information that affects people with health problems (allergies)

•READ the asterisks

Label Terms LOW IN: Food could be eaten frequently without exceeding

recommended amounts

REDUCED, LESS, FEWER: Food must have 25% less of something than a comparison food

GOOD SOURCE OF: One serving of the food contains 10-19% of daily food value

Label Terms ORGANIC AND NATURAL: No pesticides have been used

HIGH SOURCE OF FIBER: At least 20% from fiber

JUICE—must be 100% juice. Products using terms fruit drink or fruit beverage may contain less than 10% fruit juice.

Closing Questions•What’s the problem with focusing on only one or two

nutrients on a label?

•Why is it important to look at nutrients like calcium, protein, and vitamin A…not just the fat and cholesterol on a food label?

•Why don’t we just avoid all foods that have no nutritional value?