1.

HOW

HAS OUR
DIET CHANGED
OVER THE PAST 100
YEARS?

Globally, around 35% of adults aged 20

and over are considered overweight
(WHO, 2008). This guided investigation
will help you reflect on what changes
have been made to our diet over time,
making us more at risk becoming
overweight.
It is important to recognise that there are
other factors influencing obesity (such
as physical activity and genetics)
however this task only requires you to
investigate changes in the diet.

Daily Mail, 2012

These materials are 2004 NAME, SCHOOL, all rights reserved.

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2. INFORMATION
SOURCES

The sources will provide you with specific

To answer this question you need to:

information related to the types of food that have

Investigate the types of food that have

replaced or been added to our diet
Compare the portion size of food we ate in
1900s compared to now
Explain what factors may have influenced
change in our diet

been introduced into the modern diet and the

foods that have been reduced. The sources also
identifies and explore factors that influence why
our diet has changed.

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Information sites to use:

Australian Food through the years

Australias Food History Timeline

Australian guide to healthy eating

Bite-size view of a nation

Factors affecting food selection

Portion size affects how much you eat

despite yourappetite

What Australians eat

Manitoba Healthy Living & Chicago Partnership for Health Promotion, n.d
These materials are 2004 NAME, SCHOOL, all rights reserved.

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3. THE STUDENT ACTIVITY

It is your task to use the information sources
provided on the previous slide to develop a
timeline of how the human diet has changed
within the past 100 years.
Click on this link and use this template timeline to
get started. Some dates have been put in for you.
1. In each 10 year period, write three facts or events
that may have happened about the diet of that
time. You are welcome to use pictures to help
explain.
2. This timeline will help develop understanding,
organise your research and prepare you for the
assessment activity.
3. The diagram to the right of the screen will
provide some useful ideas to think about when
preparing your timeline.

Portion size

Pre-packaged

Fast food

food

Change of
diet

World Wars

Fad diets

Meat
consumption

These materials are 2004 NAME, SCHOOL, all rights reserved.

4. THE ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY

From your research and the development of your timeline, your task is to now create a brochure.
The brochure should demonstrate your understanding on how the diet has changed over time and include your opinion as to what you think has
influenced the change. You will also be required to recommend guidelines and strategies on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, in light of your new
knowledge.

Please refer to the assessment criteria and rubric for more information.
Assessment criteria and rubric

These materials are 2004 NAME, SCHOOL, all rights reserved.

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5. ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES
The following are excellent sites about the changing diet and
activities students can do to learn about dietary needs in
present time and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Weigh Up your lunch box - Choose items to put in your

lunchbox and see how they measure up to the dietary
guidelines.
Rainbow Supermarket - Comparing nutrition panels
of certain food to choose the healthiest choice, as
today we have so many options.
Portion Distortion- Quiz on how todays portions
compare to portions 20 years ago.
Food and nutrition - Statistics on what factors
influence what we eat and the way we eat.
Healthy Club Canteens Particularly the templates
and worksheet section. This resources could be used
for students to address the changes of diet within the
school. Students could reflect on the food served in
the canteen and what they could change to make it
healthier.

Australian Guide to Healthy Eating Chart, 2006

These materials are 2004 NAME, SCHOOL, all rights reserved.

6. TEACHER SUPPORT
MATERIALS

This task would ideally be completed in a nutrition unit for year 9 health education. It
may be helpful to go through how to create a timeline (even though there is a
template) so that students understand the concept. It may also be useful to go through
how to use Microsoft Publisher with students who wish to create their brochure on the
computer. Also, as some of the information comes from American articles it would be
beneficial to explain what calories are and how to convert them into kilojoules.
Before the task, you could get students to predict what they think the major changes
might be and then when they complete there brochures ask them to compare their
findings to their predictions.
The specific learning objectives in this class is for students to understand why our society
is consider more unhealthy then in the past. It also helps develop them as educated
citizens who are aware of a changing society.
This guided investigation addresses these specific Australian Curriculum standards:
Plan, implement and critique strategies to enhance the health, safety and wellbeingof their
communities(ACPPS096)

creating and evaluating visual and multimodal health campaigns in print-based and digital
environments to promote health and wellbeing in their community (AD,HBPA,S,FN,RS,MH)

Critique behaviours andcontextual factors that influence the health and wellbeingof their communities
(ACPPS098)

examining social, cultural and economic factors that influence the health behaviours of people in their
community (RS,FN,MH,AD,HBPA,S)
These materials are 2004 NAME, SCHOOL, all rights reserved.