Junk Food Facts

Junk Food Facts

Podcast available online at www.jneb.org New Resources for Nutrition Educators HANDOUT Junk Food Facts. 2015. Learning ZoneXpress, PO Box 1022, 667 ...

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Podcast available online at www.jneb.org

New Resources for Nutrition Educators

HANDOUT Junk Food Facts. 2015. Learning ZoneXpress, PO Box 1022, 667 East Vine St, Owatonna, MN 55080. Handout, $11.95/50, poster $14.95. The handout highlights the health risks of eating too much salt, sugar, and fat, as well as listing foods that are high in these ingredients. The handout also identifies the significance of eating fiberrich foods for satiety and promotes choosing healthy foods that benefit the body.—Learning Zone Express Bacon, fries, and doughnuts. As nutrition and health professionals, those 3 examples of foods with little nutritional value can make us cringe when we hear how often our teen clients eat them. For the most part, teens know these items are not the healthiest, but how do we get them to realize why? The Junk Food Facts poster is 1 step toward educating teens about the health risks of eating too much salt, sugar, and fat and the significance of eating fiber-rich foods instead. With bright colors and visual aids of typical food that is less healthful, the poster has the ability to draw in its intended audience, teens, to explore why they should bag the junk. By having the four main topics enlarged and in different bright colors, the viewer clearly sees the overarching messages about less nutrient-dense foods. Furthermore, the creator strategically placed pictorial examples of foods high in salt, fat, and sugar next to the corresponding topic. This placement will help those of low literacy or

taking a quick glance to understand the key messages. Those intrigued by the poster will find factual information about why foods high in fat, sugar, and salt should be avoided, and a sample list of such foods. Although the information is concise, it may be more beneficial to make the chronic diseases more relevant to teens. For instance, focusing on such foods' effect on building muscles for boys would have more of an impact. Including a list of examples of less nutrient-dense food is also strategic to help teens understand the connection between high fat, salt, and sugar and the foods in their diets. This poster also focuses on the role of fiber in our diet and its relationship in food with little nutritional value. It explains that people tend to overeat when consuming food low in fiber.

The poster also states that you can find fiber as part of plant-based foods. However, it would be more informative to the audience to list a few specific examples of high-fiber food. Although the poster does not address examples of high-fiber food specifically, it advises teens to choose more nutritious foods to benefit their body. At the bottom of the poster, there is a section discussing general healthy food choices within each food group. Each group is labeled with a picture and a healthy eating slogan. This section is separated at the bottom of the poster with a dividing line and a different colored background to emphasize that it is a different topic. It draws the viewer's attention from the top of the poster to the bottom, to learn these key messages. Overall, this poster is a strong resource for use to educate teens about how to make healthy choices and why to avoid less healthful food. Professionals working in middle schools, high schools, boys and girls clubs, and teen after-school programs are a few examples of potential users.

Livia Berg, BS, Cooking Matters AmeriCorps, Capital Area Food Bank, 1401 N Taft St, Apt 1207, Arlington, VA 22201 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2015.08.011

Cite this article as Berg L. Junk Food Facts [New Resources for Nutrition Educators]. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2016;48:158.e3.

Inclusion of any material in this section does not imply endorsement by the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Evaluative comments contained in the reviews reflect the views of the authors. Review abstracts are either prepared by the reviewer or extracted from the product literature. Prices quoted are those provided by the publishers at the time materials were submitted. They may not be current when the review is published. Reviewers receive a complimentary copy of the resource as part of the review process. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2016;48:158.e3 Ó2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior  Volume 48, Number 2, 2016

158.e3