Exercise: Childhood obesity is still a problem

This exercise is linked to the article: Childhood obesity is still a problem

This exercise is linked to the article: Childhood obesity is still a problem

Intro:
1. What is your favourite food? Is it healthy?
2. How should a healthy diet look? What are the key components?
3. Which is your preferred fast food? Do you know any healthier alternatives to it?
4. Who should take care about the diet of the school children: parents/schools/the government/children? Why?

Vocabulary:
abundance, address, affect, ambiguity, amendment, caffeine, cafeteria, cereals, education act, energy-rich, exceed, fat, fibre, head, lean, legume, linked to, nutrients, nutrition expert, nutritional value, premature, protein, recipe, refined grains, saturated, snack, sugar-sweetened, occurrence, overweight, vagueness, veto, WHO, whole foods

Find in the text about obesity words that go with the following:
address the problem
linked to
head of
affect
poor in
occurrence of

I. Read the text about obesity and decide whether the following statements are true or false!
1A. Obese children are highly probable to have problems with weight as adults. - true
1B. According to the WHO Slovakia, we should care about the obesity of children
2A. More than 50% of adults younger than 64 are obese or overweight.
2B. More than 50% of all Slovak adults are obese or overweight.
3A. Children are doing the same amount of sport, but they consume too much fast food.
3B. Foods poor in nutrients are amongst the main factors that lead to obesity.
4A, Skipping breakfast does not have an effect on the poor diet of adolescents.
4B. Children who skip breakfast prefer fried and processed food in school cafeterias.
5A. There is no cooperation between school cafeterias and the government.
5B. People from several departments of the government assess the quality of children's diet at school.
6A. Sodium Chloride is one of the nutrients that should be controlled.
6B. Foods with more than 1.5% content of Sodium Chloride will be banned by law.

Additional questions:
1. Why is childhood obesity dangerous?
2. What is the difference between obesity and overweight?
3, Why are the children of today less active than previous generations?
4. What is the most important meal of the day?
5. What are the functions of Sodium Chloride (salt) in our body?
6. Why did the president veto the law on the sale of fast food?

1. Because it can last into adulthood and can lead to health problems such as: high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol...
What can we do to avoid obesity?
2. Overweight - weighing a bit more than recommended (the Body Mass Index – BMI – is between 25 - 29.9); Obese – BMI – is over 29.9. Sometimes, we refer to obese people as “dinosaur”, but it is very impolite!
BMI is calculated when you divide your weight in kg by your height in metres squared. But it isn't absolutely reliable, as it does not take in the difference between fat and muscle mass.
Calculate your BMI
3. General change in lifestyle enhanced by globalisation and technology
Which aspects of globalisation and technology have had the most profound effect on our lifestyle?
4. Breakfast: it provides energy for the whole day. If you skip breakfast, you might feel tired, hungry and compensate with a big, unhealthy lunch or supper.
Do you eat breakfast? What should an ideal breakfast look like?
5. Sodium Chloride - together with Potassium – maintains the cell balance. Also, it helps to retain water and maintain normal blood pressure. Our diet often contains too much sodium, which results in an imbalance with potassium. As a consequence, the cells get dried out, the blood becomes too thick and it can result in high blood pressure, problems with the kidneys and diabetes. Experiment: slice a cucumber and add a little salt. After a while, you will observe that it goes dry. This is the water retaining effect of salt. RDD of Sodium is about 1,500mg, more than 2,300, which is approximately one teaspoon, can be dangerous!
6. The president vetoed the law because it lacked a clear definition of fast food and the food groups. For example, a milk drink can be considered healthy or unhealthy, depending on the composition. The same goes for pizza, sandwiches...

Answers to true or false
1A. Obese children are highly probable to have problems with weights as adults. - true
1B. According to the WHO Slovakia, we should care about the obesity of children. - true, as it is linked to adult obesity
2A. More than 50% of adults younger than 64 are obese or overweight. - true, 36.2 + 25.6
2B. More than 50% of all Slovak adults are obese or overweight. - false, it refers only to those between 18 and 64.
3A. Children are doing the same amount of sport, but they consume too much fast food. - false, less physical activity
3B. Foods poor in nutrients are amongst the main factors that lead to obesity. - false, it is energy-rich foods (they are often poor in nutrients, however)
4A. Skipping breakfast does not have an effect on the poor diet of the adolescents. - false, ESPECIALLY skipping breakfast leads to bad dieting
4B. Children who skip breakfast prefer fried and processed food in school cafeterias. - false, children in general prefer fried and processed food
5A. There is no cooperation between school cafeterias and the government. - false, obey the set of rules set by the Education Act
5B. People from several departments of the government assess the quality of children's diet at school. - true, interdepartmental working groups (reference to the Education Ministry, which means that government departments are involved)
6A. Sodium Chloride is one of the nutrients that should be controlled. - true, Sodium Chloride = salt
6B. Foods with more than 1.5% content of Sodium Chloride will be banned by law. - false, the law has not yet been passed - vetoed by the president

This exercise is published as part of Spectator College, a programme created by The Slovak Spectator with the support of Petit Academy Foundation and Orange Foundation.

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