To show young people that how they feel about themselves may influence what they eat.

OVERVIEW

LEADER PREPARATION

• Review the group building options and gather the appropriate items.
• Serve a healthy snack, such as bagels, cold vegetables, fruit, or yogurt.
• For group presentation you will need video with clips from local high school restaurants, movie clips of junk food scenes, and/or fast food or prepared food commercials.
• Obtain a nutritional knowledge test can be obtained from a hospital or health-related organization, such as the American Heart Association or American Cancer Society.
• Prepare to discuss foods that are low in nutritional value and the effects on our bodies (this also can be obtained from the Heart Association and other health-related organizations).
• Acquire pencils, paper, and magazines.

GROUP BUILDING

Any of the following activities are fun and effective. Be sure to obtain the necessary items.

• Have a relay race. Place two grocery bags filled with food at the front of a room. Each team member must reach into the bag, eat whatever he or she pulls out, and run back to tag the next person.
• Bob for apples or marshmallows.
• Play a guessing game to determine more nutritive food choices. For example: place on a table five different breakfast items, such as a bowl of oat cereal, bacon, eggs, breakfast tarts, donuts, milk, fruit, and yogurt. Have them guess which has the best and worst nutritional values.
• Provide a stack of magazines and ask the group to cut out who they would like to look like.
• Serve a healthy snack.

GROUP PRESENTATION

• Show the prepared video of junk food scenes. If possible, show scenes with beautiful young people advertising carbonated beverages, candy, baked goods, and salty snacks.
• Administer a short nutritional knowledge test.

GROUP DISCUSSION

It might be a good idea to do this activity in two sessions:

A case history of "Tim." Tim eats two bowls of sweetened cereal for breakfast while he listens to his mom and dad argue about money. On the way to school he stops to buy gas; he also buys two candy bars and a soda. He finishes it before he reaches school. At lunch he is short on cash, so he buys a bag of cheese popcorn, fruit punch, and chocolate cupcakes. By fifth period, Tim is losing energy. His grades aren’t very good and he is somewhat overweight. After school, he goes home and eats some cookies and milk. His mom has fixed roast beef, mixed vegetables, and baked potatoes for dinner. Tim eats the roast beef and baked potatoes (filled with butter and sour cream). Of course he doesn’t eat the mixed vegetables, he never does: he thinks most vegetables are gross. Tim rushes to work at a fast food restaurant where he eats a burger and fries when the manager isn’t looking.

• What are some of the reasons why Tim eats the way he does?
• What are some results of Tim’s eating habits?
• How are your eating habits similar to Tim’s? How are they different?
• Do you think how Tim feels about himself is related to the kinds of food he eats? Why?
• What would you do if you were Tim’s friend? If you were Tim’s parents? If you were Tim?

A case history of "Jennifer." Jennifer wakes up in the morning, kisses her mom, skims through her teen magazine, skips breakfast, and rushes to school. Jennifer goes to the girl’s bathroom between classes and looks in the mirror and thinks to herself, "I’m so fat"; she also has a headache. At lunch she buys her usual diet soda and package of crackers. She has a candy bar to get her through the afternoon. Jennifer has lots of friends who diet. Jennifer performs a little below average in her school work. For dinner Jennifer has a baked potato and drinks a diet program shake. Later that night Jennifer and her friends stop by a donut shop to see her boyfriend Jeff; they each eat a chocolate bavarian donut. Jennifer feels fat.

• What are some of the reasons why Jennifer eats the way she does?
• What are some results of Jennifer’s eating habits?
• How are your eating habits similar to Jennifer’s? How are they different?
• Do you think how Jennifer feels about herself is related to the kinds of food she eats? Why?
• Do you think Jennifer wanted to eat the donut? Why or why not?
• What would you do if you were Jennifer’s friend? If you were Jennifer’s mom? If you were Jennifer?
• The following questions are optional for continued discussion:
• Think about what you have eaten in the last 24 hours.
• How do you feel about yourself, on a scale of 1-10? (You might obtain and administer a self-concept test)
• Have you ever dieted? Why?

WRAP-UP

Note that often if we don’t feel good about ourselves, it affects not only the amount of food we eat, but also the quality of food. For example, if there is stress or conflict in our lives, we have a tendency to eat more food, often choosing foods with little or no nutritional value. If we don’t feel good about how we look when we compare ourselves to celebrities, we have a tendency to not eat enough, and we again often choose foods that are of low nutritional value. Cite examples of foods that are low in nutritional value: carbonated beverages, prepared and salty snacks, and candy.

Express why it is important to choose foods that are of high nutritional value. List some effects of a steady diet of junk food.

EVALUATION AND FOLLOW UP

There are several suggestions for further evaluation of the program:

• "Fact, React, Act": Have each participant list one fact (one thing learned from discussion), how he or she reacts (how one feels), and one way to act (one thing to do as a result of the discussion).
• Ask the participants to keep a food journal. The individuals may keep a list for one week of every bite of food eaten and how one feels at the time of each meal or snack.
• Plan a trip to the grocery store and show them how to read labels.
• Ask everyone to bring in a menu from a restaurant and then pick the best nutritional meal from it.
• Give them a challenge: eat one piece of fruit and one vegetable each day.
• Show them how to make a nutritional snack (i.e., vegetable dip or low-fat, high fiber muffins).

IMPLICATIONS

• This can be a valuable discussion, because when teenagers feel good about themselves, the quality of their diets improve. If their diets improve, they may begin to feel better about themselves.
• Be aware that when there is conflict in the home and conflict about their identity, there is a tendency to overeat (and make poor nutritional choices).
• Food habits are influenced by many factors, including family, peers, and the media.
• Some girls become preoccupied with their self-image; this may adversely affect their food intake and lead to an eating disorder.
• Health professionals who work with girls must understand their psychosocial development and effectively communicate with them so that they can help the girls learn to develop nutritious, health-promoting food habits.
• Youth workers need to be sensitive to feelings and self-esteem of young people. These two areas are often affected and controlled by what is eaten. Everyone needs to evaluate the role food plays in our lives and learn to handle it correctly. Our actions may affect and influence others; therefore, we need to evaluate our own food reactions, working toward wholeness for our own bodies.

Denise J. Deavor cCYS