Scenario

Sean is Sarah's 14 year-old brother. He has been working at a new job helping to clean the school during the summer. He is working very hard moving and cleaning desks, washing windows, and delivering boxes. Each day, Sean and his co-worker Mike go to a fast food restaurant for breakfast and lunch. One day, Sean told his mom that he seemed to be gaining weight even though he is working very hard. Why is Sean gaining weight? How can he eat more wisely?

TASK

As you discover the answers to the following questions, record them on your worksheet.

Step One

THE FOOD GUIDE PYRAMID

You have studied the Food Guide Pyramid. How much do you remember? Go to the Food Guide Pyramid (http://www.kidsfood.org/f_pyramid/pyramid.html) and take the Food Guide Pyramid quiz by scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking START.

• What does the Food Guide Pyramid remind us to do with the foods at the top of the Pyramid?
• At the end of the quiz, there are servings listed for three groups of people. Write the name of the group Sean is in.

Step Two

SEAN'S HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES

Think about the group Sean was part of in Step One. Here is a day's menu that shows wise food choices for that group. Each choice is one serving unless it says something else.

Breakfast - Cheerios, two slices wheat toast, jelly, nonfat milk, orange juice, strawberries

Lunch - one slice cheese pizza, green salad with ranch dressing, a banana, an orange, nonfat milk

Dinner - raw carrots, two servings spaghetti and meatballs, dinner roll, two chocolate chip cookies, nonfat milk

Snacks - apple, two graham crackers, microwave popcorn

• Using Sean's menu above, put a tally mark in the chart for each item Sean eats. Complete the rest of the chart.

This day's menu contains 2,300 calories and 66 grams of fat. This means 25% of its calories come from fat.

• Which food is used in the smallest amounts per meal?
• What is your opinion of this day's menu?

Step Three

SEAN'S UNHEALTHY FOOD CHOICES

Instead of eating the healthy diet shown above, Sean and Mike have been going to a local fast food restaurant for breakfast and lunch each day. Here is a list of what Sean may eat.

Breakfast - one Egg McMuffin, hash browns, and two servings of orange juice

Lunch - two quarter pounder hamburgers with cheese, large fries, large vanilla milk shake, one apple pie

For dinner, Sean will eat with his family at home. He may eat two servings of spaghetti and meatballs, a dinner roll, salad with ranch dressing, two chocolate chip cookies, and two glasses of nonfat milk.

Snacks - apple, two graham crackers, air-popped popcorn with a little butter

• What is your opinion of this day's food choices?

Let's see why some of these choices are unhealthy.

1. Go to CyberDiet (http://www.cyberdiet.com/ffq/).
2. Choose McDonald's.
3. Scroll down to Fast Food Categories and Subcategories.
4. You may choose either the breakfast or lunch choices Sean made above. Select the foods from the chart given.
5. Scroll down to the "Columns to display." Click off of cholesterol, sodium, and carbohydrates. Calories, fat grams, and percentage of fat should still be checked.
6. Click "Display results."
7. When the results are displayed, calculate the following:

• how many calories Sean will eat
• how many fat grams are in the meal
• the fat percentage for the meal.

You may use the calculator on your computer. Write the results on your worksheet.

• What can you say about the number of calories Sean eats and the amount of fat he eats?

Step Four

WHAT CAN SEAN DO?

Sean knows that because he can't drive, he must go where Mike wants to eat. His co-worker enjoys McDonald's. Go to Fast Food Eating (http://www.betterbodz.com/library/fastfood.html) and read some suggestions to improve his diet. Can Sean still eat at McDonald's and eat healthy?

• With all of the information you have gathered, you can now help Sean make better food choices and control his weight gain.

PRODUCT

In two paragraphs, give the following information.

1. Give two reasons you think Sean is gaining weight.

2. Make a change in Sean's breakfast or lunch choices that will help him stop gaining weight and still allow him to go to McDonald's.