NOVA scienceNOW: Aging
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Student Handout
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Total Fat: What Does It All Mean?
Did
you know that the mix of different types of fats—monounsaturated,
polyunsaturated, saturated, and trans—in our diet may affect heart
health? In this activity, you will review different types of fat and how each
type may affect blood HDL and LDL levels. You will examine the fat content in
food items by analyzing Nutrition Facts labels. Finally, you'll identify food
items that contain one day's worth of recommended heart-healthy fat for a teen
for one day.
Find the Nutrition Facts label on one food item wrapper, then answer the
questions on your "Nutritional Label Analysis" handout. When you are finished,
answer the same questions for the remaining two food items. Next, choose four different fat-containing food items and determine a
serving size for each so that the total amount of food you select contains one
day's worth of recommended dietary fat for a teen. (To help you do this, review
the charts on the board and read "Analyzing Food Items" on this handout.) When
you are finished, write your food items and amounts in the chart that
follows.
Analyzing Food Items
- Use www.mypyramid.gov to help you find food items and calorie
values.
- The Fats in Food box below includes a list of some types and sources of
fat.
- Total fat calories for one day for girls average about 650 calories (more
for athletes). Ten percent or less of total daily calories may come from
saturated fats.
- Total fat calories for one day for boys average about 700 calories (more
for athletes).
- Grams of saturated fat should be no more than 24 for girls and no more
than 27 for boys.
- Note that you are only looking at dietary fat. Balanced diets include
carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fat.
Fats in Food
Some fat-containing foods:
Polyunsaturated Fat
soybean, corn, safflower, sunflower oils and foods made of these;
pumpkin seeds; and for omega-3: halibut, salmon, tuna, green leafy
vegetables, soy, walnuts
Monounsaturated Fat
canola and olive oil, peanut butter, avocados, almonds, cashews
Saturated Fat
butter, milk, meat, cheese, ice cream (depending upon the type)
Food
Items Representing Healthy Dietary Fat for One Day
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A.
Food item:
Food amount:
Calories from fat:
Grams saturated fat:
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B.
Food item:
Food amount:
Calories from fat:
Grams saturated fat:
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C.
Food item:
Food amount:
Calories from fat:
Grams saturated fat:
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D.
Food item:
Food amount:
Calories from fat:
Grams saturated fat:
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Total
calories from fat =
Total grams of saturated fat =
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