Reading a "Nutrition Facts" Food Label for Fifth Graders

Karen Jensen
EDTEC 596
Fall 2009

Day 1 Assignment

Mini Analysis

The Health Education Content Standards for California Public Schools, published by the California Department of Education, define essential health concepts, such as nutrition and physical activity, to be taught to elementary age school children. In the fifth grade, the nutrition standards include the following:

1.2N Identify key components of the “Nutrition Facts” label.
3.2N Interpret information provided on food labels.
5.1N Use a decision-making process to identify healthy
foods for meals and snacks.
7.1N Identify ways to choose healthy snacks based on current
research-based guidelines.

I propose to design an eLearning course that instructs fifth grade students how to find, read, and interpret example “Nutrition Facts” and ingredients labels on food such that they can identify healthy foods and snacks.

In order to determine the need for the course, I surveyed 23 fifth grade students. The students were given a questionnaire. The questionnaire featured an example “Nutrition Facts” label. Using the example label, the students were asked to identify key components of the label, to interpret the information presented on the label, and to make judgments about the “healthiness” of the example food product.

The data show that 61% of the students know where to find information about the servings on the label, but only 13% know how to interpret that information to determine how many servings are contained within the container. None of the students showed an understanding that the calories represent the amount of energy contained within a serving. 78% of the students were able to correctly identify the example food product as low in fat, but none of the students were able to describe how to use math to prove that the food is low-fat. 30% of the students had a vague understanding that the % Daily Value section of the food label is related to daily nutritional intake, but the students were unable to interpret what those percentages mean regarding the example food product. 52% of the students were able to identify the food as a healthy snack, but only one student was able to adequately describe why the food is healthy based upon the nutrition label.

The data suggest that while a number of the students have a very general understanding of how to read the basic components of a “Nutrition Facts” label, few, if any, have the skills/knowledge to interpret the label in order to make healthy food choices. Thus, while the proposed eLearning course will contain training on how to find and read a food label, the main focus will be to instruct students how to interpret those facts as a means of determining the nutritional value of a food.