Lesson 4.2: Energy Balance, Hunger, and Appetite

Overview

This lesson focuses on learning about where your body gets energy from and how much energy is needed for day-to-day life.

Learning Targets

  • LO6: Explain the concept of energy balance.
  • LO7: Explain how energy balance relates to health.
  • LO8: Identify how many calories are recommended each day for boys and girls aged 14 to 18.
  • LO9: Compare hunger and appetite and explain what makes them different.
  • LO10: Identify and explain the major influences on appetite.

Preparation

For the Warm-Up Activity: Write the Journal Question on the board or identify (and copy as needed) the worksheets you plan to use:

For the Content Focus: Make copies of the Lesson 4.2 Note-Taking Guide. Project the Lesson 4.2 PowerPoint slides.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: What Influences Your Eating? Prepare enough sticky notes to give each student two sticky notes to use.

If using the exit ticket option, prepare slips of paper for the exit ticket (or have students use their own piece of paper).

Warm-Up Activity

Select a warm-up activity to help get your class focused and on task.

  • Journal Question: What does it feel like to be hungry? Have you ever eaten something even though you weren’t hungry? What influenced you to eat when you weren’t hungry?
    • Option: Write or project the question and have students respond in their journal or on their “bell ringer” sheet as they enter class.
    • Option: Have students discuss the question with a partner or in a small group.
  • Vocabulary Review: Have students work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to complete the Lesson 4.2 Vocabulary Review Worksheet
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 4.2 Quiz to assess their prior knowledge.
    • Option: Collect the quiz and use it alongside a posttest to demonstrate student learning.
    • Option: Have students share their answers with a partner and then go over the answers together as a class.

Lesson Content

Review the content from the textbook lesson.

Lesson Focus: What Influences Your Eating?

  1. Give each student a copy of the Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: What Influences Your Eating?
  2. Have students work individually to complete the worksheet.
  3. While students work on their worksheet, make two columns on the whiteboard. Title one column “Helps me eat healthier” and title the other “Does not help me eat healthier.” When students are finished with their worksheet, give them two sticky notes. Tell them to write one influence that helps them eat healthier and one that does not help them eat healthier. Ask them to bring the sticky note up to the board and put it in the corresponding column.
  4. Once all students have brought up their sticky notes, lead the class in a conversation about the influences you see on the board.
  5. Option: As an exit ticket activity, ask students to write about influences they had not previously considered from the class discussion that would affect their eating habits. Collect the exit tickets as students leave class.

Challenge Activity

Have students needing an additional challenge work on the following Thinking Critically task.

Marcus goes to baseball games with his family almost every weekend, and you’ve noticed that he gets a chili dog with fries no matter what time the game is or whether he has recently eaten. Other families in the stands also bring popcorn, chips, and other snacks. Marcus never wants to be rude, so he always takes the snacks when offered. Why do you think Marcus is in this habit? What advice could you give him to help him think about his choices? Write your response in one or two paragraphs.

Reflection and Summary

Review the critical content from today’s lesson. Review the learning targets and ask students to answer each question posed.

Can you...

  • Explain the concept of energy balance?

    Energy balance is the relationship between the calories (energy) you eat and the calories (energy) you burn off.

  • Explain how energy balance relates to health?

    The human body functions best when the amount we eat is similar to the amount we use. If you eat more than you use, you have too many calories in your body. This is called positive energy balance. Weight gain can happen when you eat more food than you use. When you burn off more than you eat, your body does not have enough energy. This is called negative energy balance. Weight loss may occur when this happens.

  • Identify how many calories are recommended each day for males and females aged 14 to 18?

    Females = 1,800 – 2,400, Males = 2,200-3,200

  • Compare hunger and appetite and explain what makes them different?

    The communication inside your body that tells you when to eat is your hunger. Hunger is your body’s drive to eat. Your desire to eat whether you feel hungry or not is called your appetite. You could be hungry but not have an appetite to eat, which leaves someone hungry.

  • Identify and explain the major influences on appetite?

    Peers: The pressure to fit in and belong can affect your food choices just as it affects other behaviors.

    Family: The foods available in your home may not be your choice. You could live with a family who makes either healthy or unhealthy eating choices.

    Personal and Cultural Beliefs: Culture can affect our beliefs about who should make the food, how much food we should eat, how many meals we should eat in a day, what meat sources are edible, and at what times we should eat what foods.

    School and Community: Access to food, food options, and pressure to eat a certain way make up school influences. Schools are required to follow some federal guidelines when it comes to the foods they serve or provide access to.

Assessment

Complete one or more of the following assessment tasks for this lesson.

Take It Home

Draw a picture or create a simple infographic (a collection of images with minimal text that gives an easy-to-understand overview of a topic) that shows how your family influences your appetite and the choices you make when you eat. Think about ethnic, cultural, and religious traditions as well as where you live and what access you have to foods. Use labels and headers to help explain your work. Discuss your infographic with your family to see whether they have anything to add.