Rationale
I have noticed a difference in how children are today versus when I was growing up. I was born in the late 60's and grew up in the 70's and early 80's. I was often outside riding my bicycle and playing various outdoor games such as tag and hide and seek. We had many variations of tag such as ball tag (getting hit with a soft ball), freeze tag, TV tag, name tag, and the list goes on. When watching my students play outside, I noticed that they didn't play the same games that I played as a child. When I talk to them about the games that I played, they look at me as if I'm speaking another language. Some kids just want to sit and not really move at all. That is a problem.
There is a very simple formula for looking at weight gain and weight loss. A change in weight equals the calories eaten in minus the calories that are burned. If you burn as many calories as you take in, your weight won't change. If you eat more calories than you burn, then you will gain weight. If you burn more calories than you eat, then you will lose weight. Dieting focuses on eating fewer calories than you burn. Because children today are leading a more sedentary life style, it is even more important to look at the food that they are eating and the amount of calories they are putting into their bodies.
In particular, my curriculum unit will examine High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and its introduction into the consumer market and how it may play a role in the obesity epidemic.
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