There’s an App for that: Technology Integration Research By: Emily Alcorn

Fooducate Available for Android and iPhones

How fooducate grades products : Fooducate automatically grades foods and beverage on a scale from A to D. There are 10 distinct grades: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, and D. Fooducate’s algorithm is based on information that is publicly available on a product’s package: the nutrition facts panel and the ingredient list. They do not receive any additional information from manufacturers. The algorithm rewards minimally processed, nutrient dense foods with the highest grades. This means that real foods, with intrinsic nutrients will score better than processed foods that are poor in built-in nutrients and use fortification as a means to appear healthy.

I’ll explain… Nutrients – Fooducate’s algorithms add points for nutrients to encourage such as fiber, calcium, and iron. The algorithms detract points for nutrients to limit such as saturated fat, sodium, and sugar. A product’s category also influence its score. Each product that is added to our database is categorized. Categories can be breakfast cereal, yogurt, bread, snacks, etc… In each category, we look at the most relevant nutrients and ingredients and give them more weight compared to others. For example – fiber is a very important nutrient in breads and cereals, but really not to be expected in yogurt. – Some categories can span the entire range of grades from D to A. Others span a smaller range – for example fruits can rate between a B+ to an A, sweetened carbonated soft drinks from D to C- at most, and popcorn from a C to an A-.

Processing – products that go through heavy processing rate lower than products that you could probably prepare at home with household ingredients. For example – a snack bar with just dates and nuts will score higher than a bar with 30 ingredients, many of which are not found in peoples’ kitchens. We can impute the level of processing by analyzing the product ingredient list. Fortification – Adding ascorbic acid (lab made vitamin C) to a product to reach 100% of the daily value of vitamin C, does not make the product “nutritious” by our algorithms. Conversely, a red bell pepper that naturally contains high levels of vitamin C will rate high.

Using Fooducate in the Classroom: How do we get kids to think about healthy eating? How do we teach them critical thinking when it comes to choosing food? e=share&list=UUrNsrnM5_Y0NvD-2xv2BPRw e=share&list=UUrNsrnM5_Y0NvD-2xv2BPRw – Fooducate created worksheets that are geared towards elementary and middle school children. – In these pages, students need to read ingredient lists and nutrition labels of some of their favorite foods, and then answer a few questions. There’s a fair mix of reading comprehension, math, and a bit of science. Based on their analysis of a product’s nutrients and ingredients, the kids are asked to “grade” it.

Student Worksheets:

Resources: Go to Daily Tips >>>Kid’s Nutrition nutrition/

4-H: 4-H IS THE NATION’S LARGEST YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND EMPOWERMENT ORGANIZATION, REACHING MORE THAN 7 MILLION 4-H YOUTH IN URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS, SUBURBAN SCHOOLYARDS AND RURAL FARMING COMMUNITIES. FUELED BY UNIVERSITY-BACKED CURRICULUM, 4-H'ERS ENGAGE IN HANDS-ON LEARNING ACTIVITIES IN THE AREAS OF SCIENCE, HEALTHY LIVING, AND FOOD SECURITY.

4-H: Healthy Living Program Making decisions for a healthy future – Health is one of the foundations of the 4-H pledge and it's at the core of what they do. Through their healthy living programs, 4-H youth are learning how to lead lives that balance physical, emotional, and social health. They are learning not only how to make smart and healthy decisions for themselves but also giving back to their communities so their friends and families can do the same. – 4-H created the Eat & Move-O-Matic App.

EAT & MOVE-O- MATIC The Eat & Move-O-Matic was developed to support the Youth Voice: Youth Choice program, and offers a simple and fun way to engage kids and adults alike in learning about the relationship between nutrition and exercise. Available for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad

Using Eat & Move-O-Matic in the Classroom: With this app,… – you'll learn about the foods you eat and how they help fuel your body for your favorite activities. – Make new discoveries about your favorite foods and get interesting tips on how small changes can make big differences. programs/kids-health/programming- resources/health-nutrition-fitness/youth-voice/eat- move-o-matic/

Other Online Resources: Fueled for Fun: ion-education/games/other/fueled-for- fun.php ion-education/games/other/fueled-for- fun.php