Healthy Eating Week Assembly

Healthy Eating Week Assembly

Healthy active lifestyles!

Aim: To teach about the importance of being healthy through eating well and being active.

To start the assembly, ask the children what they understand by the term‘health’ and what makes them healthy.

Being healthy

Talk about the importance of being healthy. Being healthy keeps us strong and helps us to stay away from being ill. There are two main things which are important for health: eating well and being active.

Note: You may wish to play the short HEW Healthy Active Lifestyles video.

The eatwell plate

To eat well, we are recommended to follow the healthy eating guide, The eatwell plate. It sets out the types and proportions of foods which make up a healthy, varied diet. As you can see, the plate is divided into 5 food groups:

• Fruit and vegetables
• Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods
• Milk and dairy foods
• Meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein
• Foods and drinks high in fat and/or sugar

A third of our diet should be based on foods from theFruit and vegetables group and the other third from Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods group. The remaining third of the plate should comprise foods from milk and dairy foods, meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein and foods and drinks high in fat and/or sugar.

The key message is to eat a variety of foods from different food groups in the right proportions.

To help us make healthier choices, the government has also produced some practical tips called the 8 tips for healthy eating. They are:

1) Base your meals on starchy foods

2) Eat lots of fruit and veg

3) Eat more fish

4) Cut down on saturated fat and sugar

5) Eat less salt

6) Get active and be a healthy weight

7) Don’t get thirsty

8) Don’t skip breakfast

The following provides more detail for each of the tip.

Eight tips for healthy eating

1) Base your meals on starchy foods

Ask the children if they include some of these foods at every meal:

-bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, breakfast cereals, noodles, cous cous, yam, cassava.

These are called starchy foods which provide starchy carbohydrate for energy, as well as dietary fibre, calcium, iron and B vitamins.

It is important to choose whole grain varieties whenever possible to get the extra dietary fibre as many of us are not eating enough. Dietary fibre helps to add bulk to the diet and keeps the gut healthy.

2) Eat lots of fruit and veg

Ask the children if they eat 5 A DAY. All options count: fresh, frozen, canned, juiced, dried. Fruit and vegetables provide vitamins and minerals for the body to function properly.

3) Eat more fish

Ask the children if they eat fish every week.

We are recommended to eat two portions of fish a week, with one being oily. Some examples include:

White fish: cod, haddock, halibut.

Oily fish: salmon, fresh tuna*, mackerel.

*Canned tuna is counted as white fish as the amount of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids is reduced to levels similar to white fish.

White fish is low in fat. Oily fish contains long-chain omega-3 fatty acids which can help keep our hearts healthy.

A portion is 140g – this is around the size of a salmon fillet you can get from supermarkets.

4) Cut down on saturated fat and sugar

Ask the children to name some foods high in saturated fat.

-Foods high in saturated fat include: fatty cuts of meat and sausages, cakes and pastries, butter.

Ask the children to name some foods high in sugar.

-Foods high in sugar include: sweets and confectionary, cakes, some carbonated drinks.

Eating too much saturated fat increases the amount of blood cholesterol and the chance of developing heart disease.

Having too much sugary foods and drinks, especially between meals, is linked with an increased risk of tooth decay, particularly when dental hygiene is poor.

Compare food labels to find foods which are lower in saturated fat and sugar.

5) Eat less salt

Where is salt found?

Most of the salt we eat comes from the food we buy readily prepared, such as bread and cereal products, meat products and some ready meals. Use the labels when buying foods to select lower salt options.

Ask the children how much salt should we eat each day.

Adults and teenagers should eat no more than 6g of salt each day, and children under 11 years need even less.

Most of us in the UK are eating too much salt. This may lead to an increased blood pressure and the chance of stroke and heart disease in the future.

Try not to add salt to food and replace it with herbs and spices. Compare food labels to choose foods which are lower in salt.

6) Get active and be a healthy weight

Ask the children if they know why it is important to be active.

Being active can help maintain a healthy weight by using more energy.

Being overweight or obese can lead to health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, some cancers, heart disease and stroke.

Being underweight could also affect our health.

Ask the children how much activity should we do each day.

Children and young people are recommended to do at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity activity each day. What counts? This type of activity will:

-make your heart beat faster;

-make you breathe harder;

-make you feel warmer.

Ask the childrenwhat they do to be active.

All activity counts, so we do not have to do it all in one go.

7) Don’t get thirsty

Ask the children if they drank something in the morning.

Our body is two-thirds water. We lose water throughout the day, when we sweat or when we go to the toilet. So it is important to keep hydrated.

Everyone should drink around 6 to 8 glasses each day, more when the weather is hot or when you have been active.

Drink throughout the day and remember to include a drink at every meal. Don’t wait till you are thirsty to drink – even a small loss of water in our body can lead to problems such as headaches and loss of concentration.

8) Don’t skip breakfast

Ask the children if they had breakfast this morning. Who regularly has breakfast?

By the time we wake up, we have usually been fasting for several hours and need energy from food and drink to replenish our energy stores. Therefore, it is important to have a healthy breakfast.

Eating breakfast gives us the energy and some important nutrients to be healthy. It helps to boost concentration during the morning.

If we skip breakfast, we are more likely to fill up on snacks that are high in fat and/or sugar if we get hungry before lunch.

What is their favourite breakfast?

Discussion

• How can the children suggest that they can be healthy?
• Use the 8 tips for healthy eating to make a pledge. Staff might like to give some examples, giving children an opportunity to think.
  

Make a pledge

• having them at every meal.

• trying different types of bread, pasta, potatoes, plantain, yam, rice, noodles, cous cous, bulgar wheat and maize.

• making sandwiches with thicker bread or having more rice or pasta.

• choosing wholegrain varieties, such as wholegrain or wholemeal bread, wholewheat pasta or brown rice and wholegrain breakfast cereals.

• having fruit juice with my breakfast.

• having a variety of different types.

• adding some salad to my lunch.

• trying something new each week.

• including fresh, frozen, dried, canned and juiced varieties.

• having some fruit or vegetable as a snack.

• trying a vegetable stir-fry or adding vegetables to my pasta or curry dish.

• aiming for at least 5 portions each day.

• exploring different types.

• being creative when I cook.

• aiming to have at least 2 portions of fish per week, including 1 portion of oily fish.

• learning how to cook it.

• including some fish for my lunch or evening meal.

• comparing food labels.

• going for leaner cuts of meat and removing the skin from chicken.

• choosing foods lower in saturated fat.

• eating foods which are higher in saturated fat or sugar in smaller amounts.

• keeping my diet balanced and varied.

• checking food labels.

• not adding salt to my cooking or at the table.

• using herbs or spices for flavour.

• trying different types of activity every day.

• taking up a new activity or sport.

• having a go at dancing, gymnastics or aerobics.

• using the stairs whenever possible.

• walking to places.

• using my bike more.

• only eating as much as I need and making healthy food and drink choices.

• choosing foods which are lower in fat.

• basing my meals on starchy foods and having lots of fruit and veg.

• always carrying a bottle of water with me.

• drinking 6-8 glasses a day.

• having a drink with my snacks and meals.

• going for different types, e.g. water, tea, coffee, fruit juice and milk.

• drinking more when the weather is hot.

• drinking more when I have been active.

• waking up 5 minutes early to make time.

• making something simple the night before.

• eating at the breakfast club.

• choosing wholegrain cereal with milk and a sliced banana.

• making it different every day.

• having a piece of toast with my favourite spread with a glass of fruit juice.

© British Nutrition Foundation 2014