☐ a. Avoid sugary foods and drinks except at meal times. Eating sugary foods is the main cause of tooth decay. It isn’t just the amount of sugar, it’s how often you eat it.

 

☐ b. It’s not good for our health to be too fat – or too thin. Although people inherit a tendency to be a certain shape, the way we eat is also important. If we eat more energy, or calories, than we use, we gain weight. The foods to reduce are fatty and sugary foods, and alcohol.

 

☐ c. Healthy eating doesn’t mean cutting out every food that tastes nice. Some of our favorite meals can be made healthier simply by preparing them in a slightly different way.  It is also important to avoid fatty and sugary snacks and have healthy regular meals.

 

☐ d. Some vitamins are easily lost with time and cooking. Therefore eat fresh vegetables and fruit as soon as possible, or use frozen. Cook vegetables in as little water as possible and use the water for sauce or soup. Start with boiling water or use steam cooking and don’t overcook your veg.

 

☐ e. Most of us would benefit from eating less fat. Eating too much fat can encourage heart disease or other illnesses and overweight. We mainly eat saturates (which are the worst fats) in biscuits, cheese, cooking fats, meat fat, full-fat milk and chips. We can cut back on saturates as much as we like: our body does not need them. On the contrary it needs a lot of vitamins and minerals.

 

☐ f. To stay healthy we need a ‘fuel mix’ that no single food can provide. Eating plenty of different foods is the best way to make sure we get enough of all the nourishment we need.

 

☐ g. Bread, pasta, rice, cereals, potatoes and other starchy foods supply starch and fiber which are important to our health. These foods also supply other essentials – protein, vitamins and minerals – all with little fat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 3 August 2011 USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has unveiled its new healthy eating symbol, called "My Plate," It is a simple circle divided into quadrants that contain fruits, vegetables, protein and grains. Next to the plate is a blue circle for dairy, which could be a glass of milk or a food such as cheese or yogurt. Gone are any references to sugars, fats or oils. “My Plate” will replace USDA's food pyramid, which has been around in various forms since 1992.

 

[…] Arriving in the midst of an obesity epidemic, this new at-a-glance guide to healthful eating is meant to remind consumers to limit heavy foods and beef up on the greens.

“MyPlate” promotes fruits and vegetables, which cover half the circle. Grains occupy an additional quarter, as do proteins such as meat, fish and poultry. A glass of milk rests to the side. Desserts have been banished to the desert.

[…] USDA officials say the pyramid was tired out, overly complex and tried to communicate too many different nutrition facts at once. The new symbol is simple and gives diners an idea of what should be on their plates when they sit down at the dinner table.

 […] In her remarks at the news conference at which MyPlate was introduced this morning, first lady Michelle Obama pointed out that the icon is “simple enough for children to understand, even at the elementary school level. They can learn to use this tool now and use it for the rest of their lives.”

Obama also said, “This is a quick, simple reminder for all of us to be more mindful of the foods that we’re eating, and as a mom, I can already tell how much this is going to help parents across the country.”

“When mom or dad comes home from a long day of work, we’re already asked to be a chef, a referee, a cleaning crew. So it’s tough to be a nutritionist, too. But we do have time to take a look at our kids’ plates. As long as they’re half full of fruits and vegetables, and paired with lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy, we’re golden. That’s how easy it is.”        

 

 

 

 

1. The article refers to schools in which state?

2. What measures have been taken to fight children obesity?

3. Did the school meals cost more or less?

4. Did the school lose or gain money?

5. According to the article, who was against limiting junk food in schools?

6. Who is in favor?

 

 

It didn't seem like a radical idea at the time. First, Ginger Gray, the food service director for Kenton County, Ky., schools, took away fried potato chips, offering students baked versions instead. Next, she phased out fruit drinks such as Kool-Aid in favor of 100 percent juices [….].

It was a calculated effort to encourage students to eat more healthfully. A registered dietician, Gray believes her job isn't just to feed students but also to teach good eating habits.

But there was a risk. The salty snacks and sugary drinks, sold in cafeteria à la carte lines and vending machines, were reliable moneymakers for the 17 schools in Gray's district, where one-third of students eat federally subsidized lunches.

But a funny thing happened. When the numbers came in, Gray found she was making more money, not less. With fewer junk foods available, more students opted for the traditional lunch line, where Gray offers items such as salads, submarine sandwiches and make-your-own tacos. At Simon Kenton High School, revenue rose 61 percent between 2005 and 2007 without a price increase for school meals.

Kentucky is the seventh-fattest state in the nation, but it has been a pioneer in improving school food. In 2005, following the lead of food service directors such as Gray, Kentucky became one of the first states to impose strict standards for foods sold in cafeteria à la carte lines, school stores and vending machines, not just in the main lunch line as federal mandates require. The new regulations banned soda and sugary drinks with more than 10 grams of sugar per serving. Twinkies and packaged cinnamon rolls were removed in favor of foods with limited fat, sugar and sodium. […]

The results in Kentucky could reverberate in Washington. As Congress moves to reauthorize childhood nutrition programs this summer, it is again taking up the issue of whether sugary sodas, chips and candy should be allowed in schools. Legislators have tried to limit junk food in schools since 1994. But each time the measures were blocked by powerful food lobbies, and conventional wisdom has long held that such snacks are a necessary evil because they provide key revenue to supplement the federal school-lunch program and help pay for sports and arts programs. […]

This year could be different. Bills have been introduced in both houses to mandate new standards. President Obama has declared childhood nutrition an integral part of health-care reform, a point first lady Michelle Obama emphasized in a speech at the White House garden.

“To make sure that we give all our kids a good start to their day and to their future, we need to improve the quality and nutrition of the food served in schools,” she said on June 16.

Even the food industry is supporting tighter standards in the face of reports that obesity rates have tripled in children and adolescents over the last two decades. One study from the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded that one-fifth of the increase in teenagers' average body mass index was attributable to an “increase in availability of junk foods in schools.” And in a year when the country faces a historic deficit, implementing standards may be an economical way to tackle childhood obesity.