Healthy Eating: Living a Healthy and Balanced Lifestyle

1. Healthy Eating: Living a Healthy and Balanced Lifestyle Case Study Section for Project Created by: Tasha Sisney

2. Learning Objectives Students will be able to: • Identify healthy and unhealthy foods • Categorize foods within the 6 basic food groups on the Food Pyramid • Organize healthy meals based on a balanced diet • Describe the health benefits of physical activity. • Organize physical activities for staying healthy • Recognize the importance of basic, healthy, and nutritional choices

3. Case Study 1: Jenny’s Problem Jenny is a well known chef by many in her small town of Greenlake. She mostly works in the area of creating healthy meals and menus for different small events around her town. Jenny plans healthy meals for parties, weddings, special dinners, and even some local restaurants. She loves to cook and make healthy and nutritious meals for anyone that she can, especially herself! One Monday morning, Jenny gets a phone call from the assistant principal of Greenlake Elementary school, the local public school in her town. The assistant principal starts to express her concern about the unhealthy breakfast and lunch choices that the school offers, and how many students are seemingly overweight. The assistant principal strongly believes this problem has to do with the breakfasts and lunches that are being provided to the students, along with the food and soda vending machine that is available to the students as well. The assistant principal then begins to ask for Jenny’s help with her problem, since she is so popular for her healthy meals throughout the town. She want’s to hire Jenny to create a one month healthy menu sample for Greenlake Elementary School. The menu will consist of healthy balanced meals for daily breakfast and lunch choices. The assistant principal reminds her to be sensitive of students with certain food allergy, and to please watch the sugar and fat ingredients since that is the reason for this need in the first place. After Jenny has completed the menu and meal plan, the school would like her to present it to the principal of the school as well as to the school district managers. Jenny is excited and worried about this job offer for this school at the same time. She is excited because she thinks big and important job could expand her career and give her more meal planning opportunities. But she is also worried, because she has not done a lot of meal planning for children. She knows how children can be very picky eaters, and so she is worried if they will like her

4. Case Study 1: Jenny’s Problem Cont’d menu ideas and food choices. Now Jenny has to think of some new and creative healthy recipes, because she has decided to take the job! Case Study Questions: What should Jenny do next? How can Jenny find some new healthy recipe ideas? What kinds of foods should Jenny make sure to include in the meal for the children to begin eating healthy? Would you know how to create a healthy menu?

5. Case Study 2: Logan’s Problem Logan is physical fitness instructor in a very large and busy city in New York. He specializes in creating healthy activities for kids. Logan has always taking very good care of his body by eating healthy, exercising, and staying actively practically all throughout his life. When he was younger he played many sports, trained hard, and even ran track at the Olympics with some college team mates of his. He still continues to maintain a healthy lifestyle by making healthy food choices, working out, staying active, and drinking plenty of water. Logan just recently opened up a new gym and activity center for kids within his city. He offers different exercise classes, boxing, kids yoga, and even private training lessons for an additional fee. But, Logan has been having a problem with his newly opened kid’s gym. He doesn’t have any members yet and he’s been open for 3 weeks now! Logan gets an idea, maybe he isn’t advertising his gym well enough. There are many elementary schools in the area, and he thinks that possibly he could recruit some members there! Now Logan has to think of a way to get the attention of some of the kids in the local schools. After thinking for a couple of days, Logan think he has a great idea. He will make flyers with a one month plan that shows all the activities and classes that his gym offers. On the flyer he puts activities that are done inside his gym, and then some great activities and exercises that kids can do at home as well. His flyers were very colorful, had great pictures, and turned out awesome! Later on that week, Logan contacted 5 local elementary school to find out if he could come there to pass out his flyers to the administration, parents, and students. Three of the schools even said that he could talk to the students about staying healthy, fit, and active, and also demonstrate some different exercises and activities!

6. Case Study 2: Logan’s Problem Cont’d Logan had a great time visiting the schools and working with the kids. Many parents told him that they were interested in bringing their children to the gym. Logan is so excited! He looks like he will soon have some member to his kid’s gym after all! Case Study Questions: How do you think Logan is doing with his gym now? What are some other kids of indoor and outdoor activities that Logan could have put on his flyer? What other ways could Logan have gotten more kids to join his gym? Can you make a activity plan with different exercises and activities to keep kids healthy and fit?