2.  Question A: Do you eat breakfast? Why should we?  Need to “break the fast”.  Increase mental function, energy, and concentration.  Include 3 out of 4 food groups for a balanced breakfast. (ie. bowl of cereal with banana slices).  Question B: Do you eat when you are hungry? Why should we?  People lose the ability to listen to their body’s hunger cues.

3.  Question C: Do you snack between meals? Why should we?  Important to have snacks to maintain blood sugar level and meet increased energy needs during growth.  Choose healthy snacks more often.  Important that people eat appropriate number of servings and nutrients each day.  Try to include 2 out of 4 food groups.  Question D: Do you eat healthy snacks? Why should we?  Include more grains, vegetables and fruits as snacks.

4.  Question E: Do you eat while watching television? Why shouldn’t we?  Tend to eat, even if not hungry.  Often eat “nutrient poor” foods.  Question F: Do you eat until you feel full? Why shouldn’t we?  It takes about 20 minutes for the body to feel full.

5.  Question G: Do you eat at least 3 meals a day? Why should we?  Missing meals may lead to not eating enough to supply nutrients and energy.  In time metabolism may decrease as the body becomes better at storing food as fat.  Question H: Do you eat fast food on a regular basis? Why shouldn’t we?  Often has higher fat and salt.  Often lower vegetables, fruit and fiber.  May not be getting enough nutrients and servings.

6.  Question I: Can you tell when you are full? Why can’t we sometimes?  Most people lose the ability to listen to their body’s hunger/satiety cues.  Society programmed people to associate eating with situations, even when not hungry.  Question J: Do you wish you could stop eating? Why shouldn’t we?  Long-term starvation leads to extreme weight loss, heat irregularities, pale skin, hair loss on head, fine hair growth on face and hands.

7.  Question K: Do you think you would be thin if you ate less? Why shouldn’t we?  Short-term water loss.  Long-term, body fights to maintain set point.  Eventually gain back weight and more unless lifestyle change and increased metabolism  Question L: Do you finish your meal even when are full? Why shouldn’t we?  If not listening to body and hunger cues, will consume more than needed.  Leads to weight gain if energy expenditure not balanced.

9.  Adopt healthy eating habits Follow Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating Eat when you are hungry, not bored  Engage in daily physical activity Include strength, endurance, and flexibility activities  Learn to accept yourself Feel good about yourself

10.  Each body has a particular weight that it tends to maintain.  Genetics play a key role in determining body weight.  Set point range can fluctuate between 5 and 10 lbs. and cannot be permanently lowered through dieting.  If an individual’s weight is below or above their set point range, their body will experience physiological and emotional changes to re-establish itself.  There is no “ideal” weight for those of the same height and age because people have different body shapes and frames.  Healthy eating and regular exercise will help lead to a healthy weight.

11.  A valid method to “measure” and assess the weights of adolescents to determine whether they are healthy is NOT available in Canada.  Teens grow at different rates to the end of puberty.  Changes in body shape and size are also influenced by family genetics, eating patterns and physical activity level.

12.  A measure of healthy weight range called the Body Mass Index (BMI) is available for people between the ages of 20-65 because they have complete their linear growth.  The BMI is not suitable as a tool to estimate a healthy weight range for growing teenagers. BMIWeight Status Below 18.5Underweight 18.5 -24.9Normal 25 - 29.9Overweight 30 & AboveObese BMI = (weight in pounds * 703 ) ( kg/m² ) ———————————— height in inches²

13.  Give up Favourite Junk Food for 1 week.

14.  Analyze your food consumption over the next 4 days, as well as yesterday (Sunday) for all meals and snacks.  For food each item determine which of the categories (Grain Product [GP], Vegetables and Fruits [VF], Milk Products [MP], Meat and Alternatives [MA] and Other Foods [OF]) it falls under, and check it off on the marking sheet  Analyze your current Physical Activity level (i.e., Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type) based on current standards.  Lastly, recognize the balance or imbalance between your energy in and your energy out.