If you can get hold of Super Size Me, use this question sheet as you watch.

PhET Lab: Food Energy and Exercise

PhET Lab: Food Energy & Exercise

Food Energy and Obesity:

The Slippery Slope to Obesity from NewScientist, outlines the diminishing effects of the rewards centres in the brain and how that can lead to increased overeating.

News (although it’s on the label…): Healthy image of cereal bars a myth (BBC)

Guardian: food labels underestimate calories

PhET Lab: Food energy and exercise (allow Java to run)

Are you eating your sleeplessness? Important reading for any student, could be used for DQ practice, connects to hormones, food energy and sleep. Don’t snack instead of sleeping!

Read the article and use it for practice for data-based question practice.

These graphs click-through to the originals posted at SciCurious’s blog. Here are some DBQ-style questions you might ask:

• Calculate the difference in post-dinner snack energy intake between having a ‘normal’ 9h sleep and the sleep-deprived 5h condition.
• Compare the trend in energy expenditure throughout the day between 9h sleep and 5h sleep.
• Describe the difference between 9h sleep and 5h in terms of eating patterns.
• Evaluate the hypothesis that “when we sleep less, we eat more” based on the data provided and information in the article.
• Explain the role of the appetite control centre of the brain on appetite, and suggest how it is affected by the conditions of the experiment.

Appetite Control: from the Wellcome Trust (‘The Anatomy of Appetite’ explainer page here).

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NYTimes Op-Doc: Calorie Detective (and here is a McGraw Hill animation on how the bomb calorimeter works). Evaluate the methods and conclusions:

In this TEDx Talk, co-founder of the FEED project Ellen Gustafson argues that global hunger and obesity are really the same problem – a systemic issue of agricultural systems, food distribution and poor diet. Check it out, and then take action – the simple theory: we buy bags, they provide school meals to get kids into school:

Being Fat Will Literally Kill You: Infographic from GOOD Magazine. Click to enlarge.

Here is a good quick explainer of the BMI from Explainia:

Calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI), by Explainia

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The Skinny on Obesity

Here is an interesting series of videos from UCTV Prime (University of California)

Parts: two three four five six seven

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HBO’s The Weight of the Nation

Part 1: Consequences

Part 2: Choices

Part 3: Children in Crisis

Part 4: Challenges

Finally, I love this clip: