Energy balance This guidance will help you make effective use of the Energy balance activity and draw out the key teaching messages.

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1 Energy balance This guidance will help you make effective use of the Energy balance activity and draw out the key teaching messages. Background information Food provides us with the energy our bodies need to function. Energy is measured in kilojoules (metric) or kilocalories (imperial). It s a good idea to teach children about kilojoules (rather than calories ) as kilojoules is the metric measure, and will keep consistency with other metric measures used in school, e.g. centimetres, kilometres, grams, millilitres. Resources on the Food a fact of life website use kilojoules. To be healthy, we need to maintain a healthy weight. This is achieved by balancing the energy we take in from food, with the energy we use being active. The Energy balance activity aims to help children understand that food and activity affect our energy level and that we need to balance our energy intake (food) with our energy output (activity) to maintain a healthy weight. Activity does not just refer to sports. Being active means moving rather than being still and may include: walking instead of taking a bus; using stairs rather than lifts; and doing some gardening rather than watching television. It is good to talk to children about all the simple ways they can be more active, as well as more energetic activities such as swimming, running and skating. We need to eat different foods because they provide the different substances our bodies need to be healthy. These substances are called nutrients. Bread, rice, potatoes and pasta are high in the nutrient carbohydrate which is a good source of energy. We should base our meals on these types of foods as they not only provide energy, but keep us feeling fuller for longer, which helps lessen the temptation to snack on foods high in fat and/or sugar. When children are using the Energy balance activity it will be useful for them to have had some prior learning about the types of foods we need to eat to be healthy and the nutrients they provide. This will help them plan a healthy diet. For example, children need to know that they should eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day to get sufficient vitamins and minerals, however, fruit and vegetables are low in energy. Foods and drinks high in fat and/or sugar are high in energy, but are often a poor source of important vitamins. When children work through the activity they need to be able to plan a healthy balanced menu as well as one that balances their energy in and energy out.

2 You can find lots of resources on the Food a fact of life website to help you teach children about healthy eating, energy and nutrients. Go to: click in the 8-11 area, then the Healthy eating, module and look at the teaching notes and resources in the different Key Facts. Before using the Energy balance activity, children should know: We get energy from food. We need and use energy to function, e.g. breathe, blink, move, talk, smile, think. We need energy to be active, e.g. play, walk, run. The Energy balance activity will help children understand that: Different food provides different amounts of energy. Different activities use different amounts of energy. We need to balance our energy in (food) with our energy out (activity). How to use Energy balance When the children begin the activity they need to select a character, Jordon or Nicola. The purpose of the activity is for children to choose foods and activities to create a healthy, balanced diet for their character and to find out whether they canfinish in energy balance by balancing what they eat with how much activity they do. At the start of the activity, the Energy bar at the side of the screen will show a negative energy status. This is to indicate that we wake up in energy deficit. This can be used as a teaching point to emphasis the importance of eating breakfast to replace the energy used through the night so we can get ready for the day. The first time period is 8am-12pm and is called breakfast. If the player wishes to add a mid-morning snack, it should be included at this time, along with breakfast choices. Up to 6 foods and drinks can be added to the plate. By using the yellow arrows, the user can scroll through a selection of possible foods and drinks. Each food and drink can only be selected once. Hovering over the plate will reveal shaded areas. These indicate where foods and drinks should be placed. Food choices can be changed by dragging and dropping the unwanted food away from the plate area, or placing a new food on top of the original choice.

3 As foods are selected, The eatwell plate updates to represent the proportion of food eaten from each food group. The Energy bar will also move to reflect an increase in energy. The aim is to eat foods in similar proportions to how they appear on the Food Standards Agency s (FSA) eatwell plate. Clicking Activity will allow the user to make their activity selections. Up to four activities can be chosen. Activities are selected by dragging them from the scroll bar at the bottom and dropping them onto the diary. They can be changed in the same way as food and drink choices. The same activity can be selected more than once, e.g. football could be chosen for 9am-10am and 10am- 11am. As the activities are chosen, the energy bar will update accordingly to show the amount of energy used. After the Food and Activity selections have been completed for the 8am-12pm time period, the Feedback option can be selected. The feedback shows the character s plate next to the FSA eatwell plate, so they can be compared. Written feedback about the food choices for each food group is provided. By scrolling down the feedback page, the user can view a chart showing the energy in and energy out for their character, and also a list of the foods and activities they have

4 chosen so far. By clicking Back, the user can return to the food or activity page and make adjustments based on the feedback, if they wish. Once the 8am-12pm time slot has been completed, the user can make changes by moving between the food and activity choices in this and the next time period. However, while the user does not have to make any food and drink choices for a time period, they must fill all four activity slots to be able to move on. The next time period is called Lunch. This covers the period from 12pm-5pm, so the user may wish to add an afternoon snack as well as lunch choices. The Lunch and Dinner periods are completed in the same way as Breakfast. When the user has filled in the activity choices for the Dinner period they will no longer be able to make any more changes. They will then be offered the Final feedback screen. The Final feedback screen is similar to that encountered throughout the activity, except that the user cannot go back to the activity and make further changes. The user can print out their feedback as a report. The following points should be considered when looking at the feedback: Your food and drink choices The foods and drinks chosen from the different food groups should reflect the proportions found on The eatwell plate. Slight differences are fine, but it should look similar. The Foods and drinks high in fat and/or sugar group does

5 not necessarily have to be represented. Necessary fats will be present in some of the foods the children have chosen, e.g. oily fish, nuts and cheese. Your energy The two bar charts show energy in and energy out. The aim is for the bars to show a similar score, meaning energy is balanced. A difference of up to 750 kj is fine. A written summary with advice is also provided. Food and activity feedback This part of the feedback lists the foods and activities that have been chosen. When reviewing this, the user should consider whether they have made healthy food choices for their character. Based on the list, alternatives could be planned. The user should also consider their activities and whether they have planned a sensible amount of activity during the day. General note: The purpose of the activity is for children to choose foods and activities to create a healthy diet and balance their energy. When the feedback is given, particular attention should be paid to the comments to ensure the correct messages are being delivered. For example, in the activity it is possible to reach energy balance by eating almost nothing and doing very un-strenuous activities. However, this is not the aim of Energy balance. The aim is to help children understand that they need to eat the right sorts of foods in the proportions as shown on The eatwell plate and be physically active to maintain good health.