Key Point #3
Scientists use models and research questions to design and carry out experiments that help their communities.
Key Point #2
To figure out how much sugar is in a food, look at the nutritional label. Divide the grams of sugar by 4 to know the teaspoons of sugar in a serving.
What you eat is one of the environmental factors that can change your health and body just like pollution. Eating a lot of sugar changes your body to make you less able to digest sugar, which can turn into diabetes over time. You can figure out how much sugar is in food by checking nutrition fact labels. Some foods have natural sugar, but some foods have added sugar that has more effect on insulin. Students formed research teams to start their community action project and came up with research questions about how to make their community healthier and the research tools to answer their questions.
Key Point #1
Many foods like fruit have healthy, natural sugar, but processed foods like cereal have unhealthy, added sugar that increases the chance of getting diabetes.
Lesson 6: What can I do to make my environment healthier?
How do scientists do real-world experiments?
L6: How can you control your health?
Food, physical activity and mindfullness
Be mindful
Next time you are on the computer, set an alarm to go off every 15 minutes. When it goes off, close your eyes, and breathe deeply 3 times. It will help you relax, and protect your eyes.
L6 Explore More: Sweet snacks
What are the nutrition facts of your favorite snack?
Take a look at the glass: Is it a surprising amount of sugar? Is it more or less than you expected?
Step #1: Check the nutrition fact label of your favorite snack or search the internet to find out how many grams of sugar is in one serving.
Step #2: Divide the number of grams of sugar by 4 to get the teaspoons of sugar in a serving. Remember this number.
Sleep well You can make your environment healthier by getting a good night’s rest. Sixth graders should get 10 hours of sleep, and adults need at least 7 hours.
Eat right
Next time you have a snack, look at the nutrition fact label to see how big a serving is supposed to be. Eat only one serving. It is a little or a lot? Is it the same amount you usually eat as a serving?
GOAL: Learn how to count how much sugar is in foods you eat
Step #3: Get a spoon and a see through-container. One spoonful = one teaspoon.
Step #4: Use the spoon to fill the glass with water, counting each spoonful until you reach your number from Step 2.