Curriculum Theme

~ Rationale ~

"About 25 million U.S. children and adolescents are overweight or nearly overweight."
In just two decades, the prevalence of overweight doubled for U.S. children ages 6 to 11 — and tripled for American teenagers.

Childhood obesity is particularly troubling because the extra pounds often start kids on the path to health problems that were once confined to adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
most excess weight is caused by kids eating too much and exercising too little.
"Many factors — usually working in combination — increase your child's risk of becoming overweight." These include diet, inactivity, genetics, psychological factors, and family/social factors.

"Poverty and obesity often go hand in hand because low-income parents may lack the time and resources to make healthy eating and excercise a family priority."
"Being overweight can cause: Low self-esteem and bullying, behavior and learning problems, and depression.

Information Source

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/childhood-obesity/DS00698 March 2006

~ Site Evaluation ~
BAM
Body and Mind

http://www.bam.gov

Accuracy and Authority
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"BAM! Body and Mind is an online destination for kids created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Designed for kids 9-13 years old, BAM! Body and Mind gives them the information they need to make healthy lifestyle choices. The site focuses on topics that kids told us are important to them — such as stress and physical fitness — using kid-friendly lingo, games, quizzes, and other interactive features." Quoted from http://www.bam.gov/site_terms.html

This web site is a non-profit organization that discusses different kinds of games to interest kids about nutrition. It allows them to create an activity calendar to schedule excercise in their day. The whole web site provides useful information in a kid centered and entertaining format utilizing games and bright colors and graphics. It lists ways to help prevent childhood obesity and helps kids make healthful choices. The names of the creators of this web site can be found in the credits link.

Objectivity and Content Relevance

This site contains accurate and information on food nutrition and physical activity gives kids the opportunity to become involved and participate in games, activities and quizzes that increase their knowledge of nutrition and healthful lifestyle. This site offers kids the opportunity to schedule physical activity into their daily lives and explore approximately 110 different activities as well as complete a quiz on what best suits their personality. The site provides accurate information in a kid-friendly format. It also allows kids to post comments on their progress to boost their self esteem and provides positive reinforcement and a support network, Braggin' Rights . The site also focuses on promoting healthful choices to provide a healthy and longer life.

Currency and Coverage

The site gives several dates from 2001-2005, we believe that it is an on going web page that is updated periodically or yearly. This information is from the Centers for Disease Control "which is the principal agency in the United States government for protecting the health and safety of all Americans and for providing essential human services, especially for those people who are least able to help themselves." They are federally funded and their mission statement give a lot of information on their organization.

Design and Navigation

This site is designed for children providing colorful design and graphics with game format and also provides links to other sites. It contains ways to improve health and educational material about nutrition, excercise. It also provides a place for kids to interact and reinforce healthy behaviors. It is geared for grades K - 12. The front page has an appealing design using an animated format. The top row utilizes a rollover function provides links to categories including food and nutrition, physical activity, your life, and your body.

Additional Resources

This site contains numerous links to valuable resources. One of these is Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The National Bone Health Campaign gives information on calcium and bones. "The National Eating Disorders Association helps explain eating disorders and how to get help. The site addresses both self-starvation like anorexia and compulsive overeating." A site on the health issues girls face they become young women, and tips on handling relationships at school and at home is found at 4 girls. Visit MyPyramid.gov to see how the Food Guide Pyramid can make healthy eating simple for you. You can also take a short animated tour to see inside the pyramid and find out what it all means by linking to the Visit MyPyramid.gov site.

WebQuest Page: Fabulous Five Nutrition Web Quest