Success Center Directed Learning Activity (DLA) Reading a Food Label M602.1

Transcription

1 Success Center Directed Learning Activity (DLA) Reading a Food Label M602.1

2 Directed Learning Activity Reading a Food Label Description: As a health-conscious consumer, you want to understand exactly what goes into your body when you eat. One of the most useful skills that you can learn is how to read a food label. Many people are intimidated by tables of numbers, but through this activity, you will learn the simple math required to make sense of the useful information contained in a food label. Materials: You will need a calculator to complete this activity. Prior Knowledge: In order to complete this activity, you must know how to divide two whole numbers using a calculator, how to round a number to two decimal places, and how to write a decimal as a percent. The following exercises will help you review these skills. If you need help with any of the exercises, please see one of the tutors in the Math Success Center. I. Use your calculator to do the following divisions. Write all the digits that appear on your calculator. a) b) c) d) II. Round the following numbers to the nearest hundredth (that is, to two decimal places). a) b) c) d) III. Write the following decimals as percents. Check your answers. a) 0.05 = b) 0.32 = c) 0.07 = d) 0.01 = e) 0.3 = f) 0.45 = I. a).048 b) c) d) II. a).05 b).32 c).07 d).01 III. a) 5% b) 32% c) 7% d) 1% e) 30% f) 45% You also need to know the following conversions: 1 gram of fat = 9 calories 1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories 1 gram of protein = 9 calories If you have any questions with the above exercises, get help from a tutor in the Math Success Center before you continue.

3 Step One: Examples Example 1: Let s take a close look at the label of a popular breakfast cereal and see what type of information that the label contains. 1 GENERAL MILLS, LUCKY CHARMS Label Information 1. Product Name: This is the nutrition label for Lucky Charms cereal 2. Serving Size: The place to start when you look at the Nutrition Facts label is the serving size and the number of servings in the package. Serving sizes are standardized to make it easier to compare similar foods; they are provided in familiar units, such as cups or pieces, followed by the metric amount for example, the number of grams. 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. 3. Servings per Package: Pay attention to the serving size, especially the number of servings that there are in the food package. Then ask yourself, How many servings am I consuming? In the sample label, one serving of Lucky Charms equals ¾ cup. If you are like most people, when you eat cereal, you probably serve yourself about ¾ of a bowl. Depending on the size of the bowl, you can easily be pouring over 1 cup of cereal into your bowl. Let s say you pour 1 ½ cups of Lucky Charms into your bowl. Then you would be eating two servings of cereal (since 2 servings = cup 4 cup 2 cup 1 2 cup ). If you eat two servings, then that doubles the calories and other nutrient numbers including fats, carbohydrates, and proteins shown on the label.

4 4. Calories: Calories provide a measure of how much energy you get from a serving of this food. Many Americans consume more calories than they need without meeting recommended intakes for a number of nutrients. The calorie section of the label can help you manage your weight (gain, lose, or maintain). Remember: the number of servings you consume determines the number of calories you actually eat. In the sample label, you can see that each serving of cereal contains 110 calories. So, if you have two servings, you would be consuming 220 calories. Also consider that these calories do not include the calories that you consume when you add milk to your cereal. We will look at this later. 5. Total Fat: Americans generally eat too much fat. Eating too much fat, cholesterol, or sodium may increase your risk of certain chronic diseases, like heart disease, some cancers, or high blood pressure. Health experts recommend that you keep your intake of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol as low as possible as part of a nutritionally balanced diet. In the sample label, you can see that one serving of Lucky Charms contains 1 gram of fat. Fat Calories: If you look at the footnote of the sample label, you can see that 1 gram of fat = 9 calories. So, since each serving of this cereal has 1 gram of fat, each serving has 9 fat calories. So, if you eat two servings, you consume 2 x 9 = 18 fat calories. Percent of Calories from Fat: Suppose that you want to know what percent of the calories you are consuming come from fat. You can figure this out by dividing the number of fat calories per serving by the total number of calories per serving. In the sample label, you found that each serving has 9 fat calories and 110 total calories. So, to find the percent of calories from fat, you use your calculator to divide 9 by 110 and change your decimal answer into a percent by moving the decimal point two places to the right. If your answer has more than two digits after the decimal point, then round it to two decimal places. In this example, we get: % This means that 8% of the calories you get from this cereal come from fat. 6. Sodium: Sodium is another name for salt, and eating too much salt is not good for your health. In the sample label, you can see that each serving of this cereal contains 183 milligrams of sodium, but what does this mean? Is this amount of salt something that should concern you? To answer this question, you can look at the Percent Daily Value column of the label. For sodium, the sample label indicates 8%. This means that one serving of this cereal gives you 8% of the daily requirement of salt. Where did this 8% come from? Remember that the values on the nutritional label are based on a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet. For a person that consumes 2,000 calories per day, the recommended salt requirement is less than 2,500 mg per day. So, if you use your calculator to divide 183 mg by 2,500mg and change the answer into a percent, you get: % Since you want to keep your intake of salt to less than 2,500 mg per day, the 7.32% is rounded up to 8%. If you were to look at the nutritional labels of all the foods you eat in one day, you would want the sum of all the Percent Daily Values for sodium to be less that 100%. This is also true of fat and cholesterol. 7. Total Carbohydrates: If you require energy quickly, carbohydrates are a great source of energy as the body can break them down into simple sugars (glucose). The daily recommended requirement for a person consuming 2,000 calories per day is less than 300 grams of carbohydrates. In the sample label, you

5 can see that each serving of this cereal contains 22 grams of carbohydrates. If you look at the footnote of the sample label, you can see that 1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories. Therefore, one serving of Lucky Charms contains 4 x 22 = 88 calories from carbohydrates. Since one serving of this cereal contains 110 calories, what percent of those calories come from carbohydrates? As you did before, you simply divide the number of calories that come from carbohydrates by the total number of calories and change your answer into a percent. So in this case, you get: % 110 This means that 80% of the calories you get from Lucky Charms come from carbohydrates. 8. Dietary Fiber: Fiber, which is found mainly in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, is probably best known for its ability to prevent or relieve constipation. But fiber can provide other health benefits as well, such as lowering your risk of diabetes and heart disease. Fiber is one of the two sources of carbohydrates, and it is the one that you want to make sure you get enough. In the sample label, you can see that one serving of this cereal contains one gram of dietary fiber. If you look at the Percent Daily Value column of the label, you will see that one serving of this cereal provides you with only 1% of the recommended requirement of fiber. Clearly, Lucky Charms is not a good source of fiber in your diet. 9. Sugars: This is the other source of carbohydrates in your diet, and this is the one source that Americans typically overeat. On the sample label, you see that one serving of Lucky Charms contains 11 grams of sugar. So, if you eat two servings, you would be consuming 22 grams of sugar. 10. Protein: Proteins are necessary for building the structural components of the human body, such as muscles and organs. You also need proteins to keep your immune system healthy, synthesize neurotransmitters, create and signal hormones, and much more. On the sample label, you can see that one serving of this cereal provides you with 2 grams of protein. If you look at the footnote of the sample label, you can see that 1 gram of protein = 4 calories. Therefore, one serving of Lucky Charms contains 4 x 2 = 8 calories from protein. Since one serving of this cereal contains 110 calories, what percent of those calories come from protein? As you did before, you simply divide the number of calories that come from protein by the total number of calories and change your answer into a percent. So, in this case, you get: % 110 This means that 7% of the calories you get from Lucky Charms come from protein. 11. Footnote: Note the * used after the heading %Daily Value on the Nutrition Facts label. It refers to the Footnote in the lower part of the nutrition label, which tells you %DVs are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. This statement must be on all food labels. But the remaining information in the full footnote may not be on the package if the size of the label is too small. When the full footnote does appear, it will always be the same. It doesn't change from product to product, because it shows recommended dietary advice for all Americans it is not about a specific food product. Look at the amounts in the footnote that appear in the column below the number 2,000. These are the Daily Values (DV) for each nutrient listed and are based on public health experts' advice. DVs are recommended levels of intakes. DVs in the footnote are based on a 2,000- or 2,500-calorie diet. Note how the DVs for some nutrients change, while

6 others (for cholesterol and sodium) remain the same for both calorie amounts. Example 2: Use the following label to answer the following questions. WHOLE MILK 1. Product s name: 2. Serving size: 3. Servings per container: 4. Calories per serving: 5. Total fat grams per serving: 6. Total carbohydrates per serving: 7. Protein per serving: 8. 1 gram of fat = calories 1 gram of carbohydrates = calories 1 gram of protein = calories 9. Assuming you are on a 2,000-cal/day diet, what is your recommended daily value for: a) Total fat: b) Sodium: c) Total carbohydrates: d) Fiber: Now, let s do some simple mathematical calculations. Refer to example 1 and get help from a tutor if needed. 10. Of the total calories in one serving of this product, what percent come from: a) Fat? b) Carbohydrates? c) Protein? Check Your Answers on the Next Page

7 Answers to Example Product name: Whole Milk 2. Serving size: 1 cup 3. Servings per container: 16 servings 4. Calories per serving: 146 calories 5. Total fat grams per serving: 8 grams 6. Total carbohydrates per serving: 13 grams 7. Protein per serving: 8 grams 8. 1 gram of fat = 9 calories 1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories 1 gram of protein = 4 calories 9. Assuming you are on a 2,000-cal/day diet, what is your recommended daily value for: a) Total fat? Less than 65 grams b) Sodium? Less than 2,400 milligrams c) Total carbohydrates? 300 grams d) Fiber? 25 grams 10. Of the total calories in one serving of this product, what percent come from: a) Fat? 49% of the calories from whole milk come from fat. Since one cup of milk has 8 grams of fat, and each gram of fat equals 9 calories, each cup of milk has 8 x 9 = 72 fat calories. Now we divide 72 by the total number of calories per serving, which is 146, and we get: %. b) Carbohydrates? 36% of the calories from whole milk come from carbohydrates. Since one cup of milk has 13 grams of carbohydrates, and each gram of carbohydrates equals 4 calories, each cup of milk has 13 x 4 = 52 carbohydrate calories. Now we divide 52 by the total number of calories per serving, which is 146, and we get: %. c) Protein? 22% of the calories from whole milk come from protein. Since one cup of milk has 8 grams of protein, and each gram of protein equals 4 calories, each cup of milk has 8 x 4 = 32 protein calories. Now we divide 32 by the total number of calories per serving, which is 146, and we get %.

8 Step Two: Your Turn Problem 1: Use the following label to answer the following questions. JAMBA JUICE SPECIALTY SMOOTHIE: STRAWBERRIES WILD 1. Product s name: 2. Serving size: 3. Servings per container: 4. Calories per serving: 5. Total fat grams per serving: 6. Total carbohydrates per serving: 7. Protein per serving: 8. 1 gram of fat = calories 1 gram of carbohydrates = calories 1 gram of protein = calories 9. Assuming you are on a 2,000-cal/day diet, what is your recommended daily value for: a) Total fat? b) Sodium? c) Total carbohydrates? d) Fiber? Now, let s do some simple mathematical calculations. Refer to example 1 and get help from a tutor if needed. 10. Of the total calories in one serving of this product, what percent come from: a) Fat? b) Carbohydrates? c) Protein?

9 Problem 2: Use the following label to answer the following questions. CARL'S JR. SANDWICH: DOUBLE WESTERN BACON CHEESEBURGER 1. Product s name: 2. Serving size: 3. Servings per container: 4. Calories per serving: 5. Total fat grams per serving: 6. Total carbohydrates per serving: 7. Protein per serving: 8. 1 gram of Fat = calories 1 gram of carbohydrates = calories 1 gram of protein = calories 9. Assuming you are on a 2,000-cal/day diet, what is your recommended daily value for: a) Total fat? b) Sodium? c) Total carbohydrates? d) Fiber? Now, let s do some simple mathematical calculations. Refer to example 1 and get help from a tutor if needed. 10. Of the total calories in one serving of this product, what percent come from: a) Fat? b) Carbohydrates? c) Protein?

10 Problem 3: Use the following label to answer the following questions. SUBWAY 6 SANDWICH: TURKEY BREAST 1. Product s name: 2. Serving size: 3. Servings per container: 4. Calories per serving: 5. Total fat grams per serving: 6. Total carbohydrates per serving: 7. Protein per serving: 8. 1 gram of fat = calories 1 gram of carbohydrates = calories 1 gram of protein = calories 9. Assuming you are on a 2,000-cal/day diet, what is your recommended daily value for: a) Total fat? b) Sodium? c) Total carbohydrates? d) Fiber? Now, let s do some simple mathematical calculations. Refer to example 1 and get help from a tutor if needed. 10. Of the total calories in one serving of this product, what percent come from: a) Fat? b) Carbohydrates? c) Protein?

11 Step Three: Reflection a) Why did you (or your instructor) decide that completing this activity was a valuable learning experience? b) What was the most challenging part of this activity? How did you deal with this challenge? c) Name something new you learned as a result of completing this activity. Be specific. STOP. Please go over your work with a tutor at this time.

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13 M602.1 Reading a Food Label PRINT STUDENT NAME STUDENT # Tutor Feedback: Student completed the entire activity. Student demonstrated understanding of the process during the discussion of his/her work. Student was thoughtful in his/her reflections and expressed his/her thoughts using complete sentences and proper grammar. Additional Comments: PRINT INSTRUCTOR/TUTOR NAME DATE INSTRUCTOR/TUTOR SIGNATURE STUDENT DO NOT FORGET TO TURN THIS SHEET IN AT THE FRONT DESK! You may not get credit for completing this DLA if you fail to leave this sheet with the front desk receptionist.