Name:_________________________________ Class:_______

Grade on assignment- not on your diet: ______/6 points

4th gr. Physical Education Nutrition Assignment- State goals 20, 22, 24
Do this with your parents! X_________________________ parent signature

Record everything that you eat or drink for two days. Please be honest. You will
be graded on following directions, and correctly identifying the food groups.
*There are no good or bad foods. It is a good idea, however, to be aware of the
nutritional content of foods/drinks because they fuel our bodies. All other things being
equal, a child who eats a well balanced diet will do better in school than a child who eats
mostly junk foods. This assignment is designed to make children and parents more aware
of what they are putting in their bodies as fuel for the day.
* Junk foods can be part of a healthy diet if eaten in moderation
* Many foods have both healthy and unhealthy things in them. For example, a
hamburger may be high in fat, but it has protein. Ice cream may be high in fat and sugar,
but it has dairy(calcium).

1. Record everything that you eat or drink in detail. You need to be specific. . For
example, don’t just write down “pizza”. What kind of pizza? What was on it? Also, tell
me the amount or size of the serving such as “Wendy’s Biggie fry”, “two large squares of
cheese pizza”. If you do not specify the amount, I will assume that it was one serving.
If you do not specify how it was cooked, I will assume the most common way. If you
do not specify what was on it or in it, I will assume that it had the usual condiments
or extras such as cheese, mayo, etc.. on a sandwich or frosting on a piece of cake.

2. Place an “x” in each of the food groups represented by that food item. For example,
fried chicken would have”x’s” in the fat and in the meat column. Pudding would have
“x”s” in the fat (unless you specified skim milk or fat free), sugar ( unless you specified
sugar free), and dairy. Please remember that you should not have an “x” unless it was a
full serving. For example, ketchup and a pickle on a burger does not count as a
fruit/vegetable, even though it is made from tomatoes. One spoonful of jelly or the filling
in a pop tart does not equal a fruit serving. If, however, you had lettuce, tomato, ketchup
and a pickle, you might combine those to make a ½ serving of vegetables.

3. I have included on the next page a list of the sources of fat. Any time that you eat an
item that fits on this list, you need to put an “x” in that column. You do not have to count
it if is on the healthy oils list(such as almonds).:

4. Add up the total “x’s” in each column

5. Answer the questions for each day.

6. Double check your fats and sugars- did you mark an “x” every time that you ate fat or
sugar? For example, if you had a chocolate frosted donut, you should have two checks in
the sugar and one in the fats.
Fact gathering and evidence:

1. Did you meet the daily requirements in EACH of the healthy food groups?
Yes Almost(all but one) No

2. Did you eat any empty calories today (no nutritional value)? Yes No

3. Total number of use sparingly food checks(fats and sugars): _______

4. Total number of healthy food group checks(breads and grains, meats and
proteins, vegetables and fruits, dairy):________

5. Did you have more checks in the healthy food groups than in the fats and
sugars? Yes No

6. Did you have any healthy oils today(almonds, olive oil, avocados, olives,
walnuts, dark chocolate, salmon)? Yes No

7. One healthy choice that I made today was:____________________________

____________________________________________________________________
My evidence is:______________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

8. One unhealthy choice that I made today is:___________________________

___________________________________________________________________
My evidence is:_____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

9. Write your conclusion here: I could change my health and diet by doing
the following:______________________
_________________________________________________________________

Finally, when you evaluate yourself and your diet, focus on this:
-Did I meet the daily requirements for the healthy food groups each day? (This is
indicated at the top of each page above the columns for dairy, meats/nuts, fruits/veg, and
breads and grains. This is what doctors recommend for healthy living.

-Did I have a high amount of ” x’s” in the fat and sugar columns? You need some
fats in your diet, but most people have way too much.
Think about it and maybe you will decide to make some different choices. Remember,
50% is your diet and exercise(things that you control) and 50% is genetics(your
family history). For example, my father passed on high cholesterol to me. If I ate like
most Americans, I would probably be at risk for a heart attack. I have to eat healthier and
exercise more than most people because of my genetics. If you want to live a healthy
life, focus on the things that you can control.
 Resource paper
Suggestions for making healthier choices:
*Drink skim milk instead of whole milk *Eat vegees or carrots at lunch
*Eat fruit instead of candy *Drink milk instead of pop *Eat lower sugar cereals
*Eat frozen yogurt instead of ice cream *Eat lower fat snacks like pretzels or goldfish
*Drink 100% juice instead of juice drinks *Order smaller sizes of high fat/sugar items
*Order grilled, steamed, or baked instead of fried * Take off the skin or breading if fried

Sources of fat:
-Any meat except skinless grilled or baked turkey, chicken, or seafood- no breading
Any nuts or eggs
Any dairy except skim milk or fat free dairy products
Skin on meat (on chicken and turkey)
Anything fried, butter, mayo, or salad dressing(unless fat free or low fat ) = 2 fat x’s
Any kind of cream (whipped cream, ice cream, sour cream, cream cheese)= 2 fats
Baked goods(cakes, pies, cookies, Danish, brownies, etc.)

*******Healthy oils: almonds, walnuts, fish that has no butter and is not fried, olive
oil, dark chocolate**** You do not have to count these in your total for fats.

For example, if you had loaded nachos, you would have one “x” for the beef, one “x” for
the cheese, One “x” for the chips, and two “x”’s for the sour cream.

Sources of sugar:
Sugar, brown sugar, syrup, honey, corn syrup, frosting
Fruit “drinks, cocktails, or blends, Sunny Delight, Hi C, kool aid, pop, Gatorade-
check the label. If it does not say 100% juice, mark it as a sugar. If it has 50%
or more juice, you can mark it as both.
Candy, baked goods(cakes, pies, cookies, brownies, etc.)
Anything that is not fruit, but tastes sweet

For example, if you had a crème filled donut with icing, you would mark one sugar for
the donut, one for the cream filling, and one for the frosting= 3 sugar x’s

Empty calories: foods/drinks with no nutritional value. Pop, gum, hard candy, jello,
cotton candy, Gatorade, koolaid, syrup, sprinkles, honey, salad dressing, oil, mayo
*Remember- this is not just junk food, it’s food with NO nutritional value that doesn’t
really fit into any of the food groups. For example, a donut is not an empty calorie even
though it is high in sugar and fat. It is still made from some flour and eggs, so it has
some nutritional value Hard candy or jelly beans, however, are just sugar. There are a
lot of junk foods, but not many empty calories.
*Remember that product information can be deceptive (they are not honest). For
example, you would assume that a product labeled 90% lean ground beef would
only have 10% fat. That is not true. The 10 % comes from the amount of fat that
you can have in an entire day. The real fat content is more than 30%! You need to
be a smart reader and eater to stay healthy.