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Kids Nutrition Education With
A Focus on Fun
September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, a great time to put a spotlight on children’s nutrition education and fun ways to teach children how to develop healthier eating habits.
Childhood obesity is a serious problem in the United States, where nearly 20 percent of children and teens ages 2–19 are obese. Childhood overweight and obesity increase the risk for chronic health issues during adulthood, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Young people with obesity are also at increased risk for a variety of physical health issues, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and impaired glucose tolerance.
Nutrition education is clearly key to tackling childhood obesity: The earlier young people can learn healthy nutrition habits the better because healthier habits can set them up for a lifetime of better health.
At Health Edco, we have a variety of entertaining and engaging nutrition education activities that are perfect to teach kids in the classroom, in smaller groups, or even in one-on-one settings about proper nutrition. Read on to learn about several of our nutrition teaching tools that put fun at the center, making nutrition education lessons effective and memorable.
Nutrition Activities With a Fun Spin
The Kids Nutrition Throw & Know™ Activity Ball is an entertaining way for young people to discover the basics and review the essentials about good nutrition and healthy eating. Designed for grades 1 through 6 (ages 6 through 11), this large (16" diameter; 24" arc length), inflatable ball features 48 questions in a kid-friendly format, including multiple choice, true false, open-ended, and more. Easy to use, the ball is designed to be tossed and caught, with the participant who catches the ball either asking the question underneath or closest to their right thumb to the group or answering the question themselves. The detailed activity guide includes an answer key. A Nutrition Throw & Know™ Activity Ball for older students and adults is also available. 
The SpinSmart™ Nutrition Wheel is a nutrition teaching activity that truly puts a fun spin on nutrition education! With every turn of this large (18½" x 23"), colorful activity wheel, young people learn the essentials of good nutrition. Players spin the wheel, which is divided into eight food categories (Meat & Beans, Fruits, Fluids, Junk Food, Vegetables, Milk, Grains, and Fats & Oils), and then answer multiple-choice questions for points and unscramble words for bonus points. It’s a great way to teach about the different food groups, the importance of eating a variety of healthy foods, and why limiting foods that are high in added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium is key to better health. The wheel includes 64 questions for grades 1–5 and 64 questions for grade 6–adult. Putting Together the Pieces of Good Nutrition
Great for raising portion-size awareness, this nutrition education activity is a real puzzle! With the Puzzling Over Portion Sizes Activity Set, participants try to fit puzzle pieces representing 10 different foods into cutouts in their 13" diameter puzzle plate. As they solve the puzzle, participants learn how to identify portion sizes and why portion sizes make a difference in avoiding overweight and obesity. The set includes 10 correct and 20 incorrect pieces, one puzzle plate, and a comprehensive activity guide. 
Kids love faux foods, and our Fat Finders Display features 12 of our ultra-realistic faux food models to be used in a series of fun activities that raise awareness of the fat content in common foods. The display comes with a set of yellow cubes participants can use to visualize how the fat stacks up in each of the foods. Nutrition information food cards are also included for each food along with a detailed activity guide. The display is a great way to explain different types of dietary fat and to help young people understand why saturated fat should be limited. Proper nutrition is key to optimal health at every age and stage of life, and Health Edco has all the nutrition teaching tools educators need to impact their audiences. Whether you are teaching the essentials of MyPlate or focusing on limiting added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium, we have the resources to reach your group. Find just what you’re looking for by browsing our line of nutrition education materials and models.
The information contained in this newsletter is not intended to replace the advice of a healthcare professional.
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