Food Choice Worksheet
Overview
Worksheet for food choices. It allows students to see what they are eating and how it affects them on a daily basis.
Food Choice Worksheet
Part I. Using Food Labels
Choose three food items to evaluate. You might want to select three similar items, such as regular, low-fat, and fat-free salad dressing, or three very different items. Record the information from their food labels in the table below. Including a table is optional
Food Items | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Serving size |
|
|
|
Total calories | cal | cal | cal |
Total fat—grams | g | g | g |
—% Daily Value | % | % | % |
Saturated fat—grams | g | g | g |
—% Daily Value | % | % | % |
Trans fat—grams | g | g | g |
Sodium—milligrams | mg | mg | mg |
—% Daily Value | % | % | % |
Carbohydrates (total)—grams | g | g | g |
—% Daily Value | % | % | % |
Dietary fiber—grams | g | g | g |
—% Daily Value | % | % | % |
Sugars—grams | g | g | g |
Protein—grams | g | g | g |
Vitamin A—% Daily Value | % | % | % |
Vitamin C—% Daily Value | % | % | % |
Calcium—% Daily Value | % | % | % |
Iron—% Daily Value | % | % | % |
How do the items you chose compare? You can do a quick nutrient check by totaling the Daily Value percentages for nutrients you should limit (total fat, sodium) and the nutrients you should favor (dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron) for each food. Which food has the largest percent Daily Value sum for nutrients to limit? For nutrients to favor?
Food Items |
|
|
|
Calories | cal | cal | cal |
% Daily Value total nutrients to limit (total fat, sodium) |
% |
% |
% |
% Daily Value total nutrients to favor (fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron) |
% |
% |
% |
Part II. Evaluating Fast Food
Complete the chart below for the last fast-food meal you or someone you know ate. Add up your totals for the meal. Compare the values for fat, protein, carbohydrate, and sodium content for each food item and for the meal as a whole with the levels suggested by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Calculate and compare the percentage of total calories derived from fat, saturated fat, protein, and carbohydrate using the formulas given.
You can obtain nutritional information by asking for a nutritional information brochure when you visit a restaurant or by visiting the restaurant’s Web site: Arby’s (http://www.arbys.com), Burger King (http:// www.burgerking.com), Jack in the Box (http://www.jackinthebox.com), KFC (http://www.kfc.com),
McDonald’s (http://www.mcdonalds.com), Subway (http://www.subway.com), Taco Bell (http://www.tacobell. com), Wendy’s (http://www.wendys.com).
Food Items
| Dietary Guidelines |
|
|
|
|
|
| Totalb |
Serving size (g) |
| g | g | g | g | g | g | g |
Calories | cal | cal | cal | cal | cal | cal | cal | |
Total fat—grams | g | g | g | g | g | g | g | |
—% caloriesa | 20–35% | % | % | % | % | % | % | % |
Saturated fat—grams |
| g | g | g | g | g | g | g |
—% caloriesa | <10% | % | % | % | % | % | % | % |
Protein—grams |
| g | g | g | g | g | g | g |
—% caloriesa | 10–35% | % | % | % | % | % | % | % |
Carbohydrate—grams |
| g | g | g | g | g | g | g |
—% caloriesa | 45–65% | % | % | % | % | % | % | % |
Sodium | 800 mg | mg | mg | mg | mg | mg | mg | mg |
a To calculate the percentage of total calories from each food energy source (fat, carbohydrate, protein), use the following formula:
(number of grams of energy source) × (number of calories per gram of energy source) (total calories in serving of food item)
(Note: Fat and saturated fat provide 9 calories per gram; protein and carbohydrate provide 4 calories per gram). For example, the percentage of total calories from protein in a 150-calorie dish containing 10 grams of protein is
(10 grams of protein) × (4 calories per gram) = 40 = 0.27, or 27% of total calories from protein
(150 calories) 150
b For the Total column, add up the total grams of fat, carbohydrate, and protein contained in your sample meal and calculate the percentages based on the total calories in the meal. (Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.) For sodium values, add up the total number of milligrams.