The choice of a personal diet

Life orientation

Grade 9

Good health and social development

Module 22

The choice of a personal diet

Activity:

To illustrate and evaluate the influence of ecological, social, economic and political factors on the choice of a personal diet

[lo 1.1]

Group work

Preliminary Assignment:

The preliminary assignment must be done by all the learners. They should be asked to bring newspapers, magazines and leaflets to school, especially leaflets advertising the “Specials” of restaurants and supermarkets. The lifestyle supplements of newspapers are also very useful, so they should try to bring as many of them as possible as well.

Glue and scissors are also required, so they must bring them along.

The class divides into groups of 4 – 6 learners each. Each group is given an A3 (or larger) page of newsprint or manila cardboard.

Step 1

Cut out pictures or words depicting the food you like best, but also the food you eat most, that is, the meals you normally eat at home, the snacks you eat in between, special dishes you order when you go out to a restaurant, and the take-always you normally buy. Make a collage on the poster according to your own taste, but bear in mind that the pictures must represent the prefences of the whole group equally. Each member of the group must cut out the letters of his or her name in a variety of type faces from the newspapers and magazines and paste them onto the collage as well.

Step 2

Each group now completes the table below. It is important that you discuss and justify your answers fully.

Take each item of food in your collage and discuss whether the reason for choosing it is:

• ecological – it is good for the environment
• social – it is fashionable
• economic – it is cheaper than alternatives
• cultural – people like us do it
• political – the government says we should

Once you have made a decision in your group write the type of food in the appropriate column in the table. The first one has been done as an example.

The choices used as examples can, for instance, be justified in the group discussion as follows:

I choose to eat the eggs that come from free-range chickens, because I don’t like the idea of chickens being kept in batteries.

I buy Steersburgers when I go out to lunch with my friends after the athletics meeting.

My mother says I must always buy brown bread, because it is cheaper than white bread.

I drink Magou because in my family we have always done it.

I started eating garlic because an ANC Minister of Health said that it prevents Aids.

Each learner now works alone to complete the individual table given below.

How will you classify the food that you eat regularly, or that you possibly want to eat but don’t for some reason or another? Think of your normal breakfast, school lunch, dinner, supper, or food you have on special occasions.

“Mark” your own column now. Place a tick next to the healthy food, and a cross next to the food that is not good for you. Add the  ’s and the x ’s and write the total in each column.

Evaluate yourself:

In which column do you have the most ticks?

What is the reason for this?

In which column do you have the most crosses?

What is the reason for this?

Do you think the way you eat is sufficiently healthy?

How can you change your eating pattern?

Back to the module…

What is good health? It is the joy of a full life because the body, mind and soul are able to function optimally. It is the ideal state in which all living organisms should be. However, we are fully aware that reality and the ideal do not always meet.

There are ways in which to move closer to achieving optimal health. Let us first look at the ordinary things over which we have more or less control. A healthy lifestyle requires a balanced diet, regular exercise, enough sleep and rest, stress handling mechanisms, healthy interpersonal relationships and visits to a health practitioner when necessary.

Assessment

Learning outcomes(LOs)

LO 1

Promotion of Health

The learner will be able to make informed decisions regarding personal, community and environmental health.

Assessment standards (ASs)

We know this when the learner:

1.1 illustrates and evaluates the influence of ecological, social, economic, cultural and political factors on own personal choice of diet;

1.2 develops and implements an environmental health programme;

1.4 critically evaluates resources on health information, health services and a range of treatment options, including HIV/AIDS;

1.5 discusses ways to apply insights gained from participating in an activity related to national health or a safety promotion programme.