Lesson  - Analyzing Fast Foods Impact of Fast Food on America's Health Objectives Students will be able to list the benefits of healthy eating. Students will be able to compare the nutritional content of selected foods. Students will be able to evaluate their own diet to see if it is healthy.   Materials Needed Worksheet Pen/pencil Computer with Internet Access Headphones (optional) Teaching Key Messages It's important to make healthy food choices everyday to keep the body healthy. A healthy diet means choosing healthy foods, but also getting a variety of those foods in your diet everyday. By learning to read the food label, children can be instrumental in making healthier food selections for themselves and their families.   Activities Activity 1 You may begin by asking students questions that assess their knowledge of healthy eating: What foods are considered healthy? (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc...) What foods are considered unhealthy?  (sweets, fats, highly processed foods, etc.) Why is it important to live a healthy lifestyle? (live longer, feel better and stronger, be more active ...) Activity 2 Next, have the students go to the following web site: www.brainpop.com. At this site, there are dozens of 3-minute movies that explain numerous scientific processes. Ask the student’s to play the "Nutrition" movie. As the movie loads, there is a "Pop Quiz". Advise your students that they will not be graded on the results of their quiz since some questions are at a high level. You may, however, use some of these questions as test questions, if you feel they are appropriate, to force your students to take the quiz seriously. Since the movie proceeds quickly, encourage the students to play the same movie more than once to absorb the most information as possible. This will give the students a quick and fun introduction to eating well. Activity 3 Go to the site www.smart-mouth.org and find nutritional information of popular fast food items.  On the main menu, click on Choose UR Chews, click a category, select an item and add it to your tray.  Continue the process until you have a complete meal or a typical snack.  The amount of Calories and Saturated Fat are listed on the right side. Unfortunately, the website does not have the capability to print so have the students write out their responses in a journal to keep track of their daily, weekly or even monthly eating habits.   Evaluation Strategy Once the students have finished this assignment, recap the messages of both activities: A well balanced diet composed largely of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein products is recommended. Cutting out all favorite foods is probably unnecessary. By measuring the fat density of some of these foods, students can make decisions that are more heart healthy when ordering from restaurants.