Grade 8 Healthy Eating

Estimated daily energy requirements (calories per day) Gender/age Sedentary Typical daily living activities (e.g., household tasks, walking to the bus). Low active Typical daily living activities, plus 30-60 min of daily moderate activity (walking) Active Typical daily living activities, plus at least 60 min of daily moderate activity. Boys (12-13 years) 2000 2300 2600 Girls 1700

Recommended daily nutritional requirements Nutrient Amount (per day for a 2000-calorie diet) Equivalent to Salt (sodium) 2400 mg (2.4 grams) 0.5 teaspoon Sugar (processed) 40 grams 12 teaspoons Fat (total good/bad) 65 grams 20 teaspoons Carbohydrates 300 grams 90 teaspoons Protein 50 grams 15 teaspoons

Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide In the next slides, key features of the three components of the Food Guide package will be presented to you, starting with the Food Guide itself, followed by the website and the resource for educators and communicators. NOTE: Participants can follow along with their copy of Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide. The rainbow design on the cover of the Food Guide highlights the relative importance of each food group within the eating pattern. The green band is the most prominent arc in the rainbow, emphasizing the important role of vegetables and fruit in healthy eating. The background image helps to connect foods with their origin. Foods pictured on the cover and within the Food Guide are popular foods that align with the guidance. These foods were found to be popular based on Canadian data and/or they represent choices made by the largest multicultural groups in Canada. NOTE: Findings of the Ethnocultural Portait of Canada, 2001 Census (Statistics Canada, 2003) were used to identify the largest multicultural groups in Canada.

Guidance on the quantity of food Let’s start with the guidance on the quantity of food recommended for Canadians two years and older. The table showing the recommended number of Food Guide Servings per day for each of the four food groups is located on the first interior page of the Food Guide. The recommended number of servings is different for males and females and at different stages of life. We also find a recommendation on the amount of oils and fats to include in the diet, at the bottom of the second interior page: A small amount (2 to 3 Tbsp) of unsaturated fat is recommended each day for essential fatty acids. This amount includes oil used in cooking, salad dressings, margarine and mayonnaise.

What is one Food Guide Serving? A “Food Guide Serving” is: A reference amount Not necessarily intended to represent what would be eaten in one sitting The second interior page provides examples of the amount of food that makes up one serving in the context of the Food Guide. Consumer misunderstanding of serving sizes portrayed in the Food Guide relative to amounts eaten is long standing. The use of the term ‘Food Guide Serving’ aims to clarify this misunderstanding. A Food Guide Serving (FGS) is a reference amount. It is not intended to necessarily represent what someone would eat at one time but it can be used as a consistent measure to compare how much people eat to what is recommended in Canada’s Food Guide. Whenever possible, the food images portray one FGS. Specifying an amount (in metric and imperial measures), where appropriate, and using a measuring cup can also facilitate the understanding of the reference amount equal to one “Food Guide Serving”. More examples are provided for each of the food groups on the Food Guide website, under the section ‘Choosing Foods’.

Counting Food Guide Servings As shown on the slide, the Food Guide also illustrates how people can estimate how much food they are eating as part of a meal. More examples can be found on the Food Guide website: Under the section ‘Using the Food Guide’, choose ‘Count food guide servings in a meal’ in the topic bar.

Nutrition Facts are based on a specific amount of food - compare this to the amount you eat All the nutrient information is based on this amount of food. The specific amount is: listed under the Nutrition Facts title listed in common measures you use at home and a metric unit not necessarily a suggested quantity of food to consume Slide #7 - Speaker’s Notes Nutrition Facts are based on a specific amount of food - compare this to the amount you eat. The first thing you should do when you read the Nutrition Facts table is to: look at the specific amount of food listed; and compare it to how much you actually eat. If you eat more or less than specified in the Nutrition Facts table, the amount of each nutrient consumed will be different than what’s shown in the table. This specific amount will be given in measures you may be familiar with, such as a cup or 1 slice of bread and in a metric unit such as millilitres or grams. It is important to refer to this amount when comparing products. The specific amount of food is not necessarily a suggested quantity of food to consume.

Specific amount of food Compare this to the amount you eat Nutrition Facts bran cereal with raisins 1 cup (59 g) Amount you eat 1 ½ cups Slide #9 - Speaker’s Notes This example shows that the amount you consume may be different than the specific amount listed in the Nutrition Facts table. The portion at home will be different depending on the size of the bowl and the person consuming the food. You should therefore refer to the Nutrition Facts table to determine the specific amount of food listed and compare it to the amount of food that you consume. Additional information for speaker: For packages that are consumed as one portion (e.g., small containers of yogurt, individual-size packs of peanuts, juice-boxes), the nutrient information in the Nutrition Facts table applies to the whole package so that it is easier for people to know the amount of calories and nutrients they are consuming.

Use the % DV to make informed food choices Choose between two similar products... Cereal 1 Cereal 2 Slide #12 - Speaker’s Notes The % Daily Value provides a quick review of the nutrient profile of a food. It puts the nutrients on the same scale. By using the 0-100% DV scale, you can compare products without doing complex mathematical calculations For example, if you were choosing between these two cereals, and you were concerned with fibre, cereal 2 with a 20% Daily Value for fibre would be your best choice. Additional information for speaker: When similar products do not have similar serving sizes, sometimes comparisons can still be made. For example, it is appropriate to compare the % DV listed for calcium in two single servings of yogurt, one containing 125 g of yogurt and the other containing 175 g, as they are both sizes that you would eat at one sitting

Nutrition claims When you want to decrease the amount of certain nutrients: Free none or hardly any of this nutrient an example is “sodium free” Low a small amount an example is “low fat” Reduced at least 25% less of the nutrient compared with a similar product an example is “reduced in calories” Light can be used on foods that are reduced in fat or reduced in calories Slide #15 - Speaker’s Notes Here are examples of nutrition claims that can help Canadians choose foods to decrease their intake of certain nutrients, such as fat or sodium. Additional information for speaker: To be able to use these nutrition claims, the food product must meet specific criteria. For example: for sodium free, the product must have less than 5 mg of sodium per specific amount of food and per a pre-set amount of food specified in the regulations, the reference amount; in order to be able to say the product is low in fat, the product must have 3 g or less of fat per specific amount of food and per reference amount.

Very high or excellent source Nutrition claims When you want to increase the amount of certain nutrients: Source contains a significant amount of the nutrient an example is “source of fibre” High or good source contains a high amount of the nutrient an example is “high in vitamin C” Very high or excellent source contains a very high amount of the nutrient an example is “excellent source of calcium” Slide #16 - Speaker’s Notes Here are examples of nutrition claims that indicate a food has more of certain nutrients which Canadians may want to increase, such as iron, calcium or fibre. Because nutrition claims are optional and only highlight one nutrient, you may still need to refer to the Nutrition Facts table to make informed food choices. Additional information for speaker: To be able to use these nutrition claims, the food must meet specific criteria. For example: the claim “source of fibre” indicates that the product must have 2 g or more of fibre per specific amount of food and per reference amount; to be able to say the product is “high in fibre”, the product must have 4 g or more of fibre per specific amount of food and per reference amount; for a product to have the claim “very high in fibre”, the product must have at least 6 g of fibre per specific amount of food and per reference amount; and for most vitamins and minerals, a “source” indicates that a serving of the food contains at least 5% of the Daily value, as indicated in the Nutrition Facts table.