Developing Understanding
7. What is the Grab 5! campaign?		 Back

 

 

Teacher's notes

The 5 a day message:
The World Health Organisation and the UK government recommend that people eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day.(1) The UK population as a whole is currently eating half the recommended daily amount.(2) Children eat even less with, on average, consumption of only two portions of fruit and vegetables a day. One in five children eat no fruit in a week.(3)

What’s so good about fruit and vegetables?
Fruit and vegetables contain minerals, vitamins, fibre and antioxidants, all important for good health now and in the future. Minerals and vitamins are essential for healthy teeth, bones and blood. Fibre helps in avoiding constipation and can reduce the risk of developing bowel cancer. Antioxidants help to prevent some cancers and heart disease. It has been estimated that around 30% of deaths caused by cancer and 30% of deaths caused by heart disease could be prevented in this country by dietary means.(4) Clearly, thousands of lives could be saved if more people were to eat at least 5 a day. Eating more fruit and vegetables can also help to control weight and to prevent asthma, which now effects one in seven children.(5)

What is a portion size?
A simple way to define a portion of fruit and vegetables is by referring to the amount that can be held in the palm of a hand. The smaller the person, the smaller the hand and the smaller the amount of fruit and vegetables required to make up a portion. Dieticians define an adult's portion as 80g.

What counts as a portion?
Fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruit and vegetables count as a portion. Although potatoes are a vegetable, and an important part of our diets, they do not count as one of the five a day. This is because they belong to another food group in the Balance of Good Health. Baked beans count as a portion. Juice also counts but only as one portion per day how ever much you drink that day.

What stops people eating fruit and vegetables?
Most people know that eating fruit and vegetables is good for you but they still don’t eat enough. The 3 main obstacles are;

1. Acceptability - very young children have an innate preference for sweet and energy dense foods. If a sweet tooth is encouraged as they are weaned they will develop a preference for sweet foods. Children often say that they don't like fruit and vegetables. Many of the highly advertised, branded snack foods are seen as the ‘cooler’ option.

2. Accessibility - fruit and vegetables may not be readily available when choosing a meal or snack. Convenience stores often have a poor selection of fruit and vegetables.

3. Affordability - fruit and vegetables are sometimes seen as being expensive and fresh produce can be considered a risky buy because it is perishable.

1. COMA (1998), Nutritional Aspects of the Development of Cancer, Report 48, Department of Health
2. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Annual Reports, National Food Survey, Stationery Office
3. National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2000), Office of National Statistics
4. World Cancer Research Fund, 1997. Food Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective
5. Kuehni C.E. et al, (1998), Change in Prevalence of pre-school wheeze in Leicestershire, surveys 8 years apart

  

PSHE: 3a

You will need:
Activity worksheet 10: the Grab 5! campaign messages

Explain the 5 a day message. Knowing that they should try to eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, ask the children to work in pairs and explain what they would do in some of the following situations;

  • You get up late and are told to get your own breakfast. What will you have?
  • You have £1 to spend and need a quick snack before after-school football practice. What will
    you do?
  • Your teacher takes you to the shops to choose some food as prizes for the summer fair. What
    will you choose?
  • It's your birthday and you can bring in a little treat for all of the children in your class. What
    will you choose?
  • You have made a salad for a group of small children who tell you that they don't like anything
    on the plate. What will you do?
  • You have been asked to buy an apple and a tomato for everyone in the class. How much
    money will you need?
  • You buy a cucumber, a pear and some raspberries on Monday. You don’t have a fridge. What
    will you do to keep them fresh for as long as possible?

Display a list of the Grab 5! campaign messages listed on activity worksheet 10. This page can be photocopied, enlarged, decorated and displayed in the classroom.

Explain to the children that surveys show that children in this country eat an average of between 0 and 3 portions of fruit and vegetables each day. One in five children eats no fruit in a week. Ask the children to estimate how many portions of fruit and vegetables they eat on an average day. They may refer back to activity 4.

Ask them to explain why it is important to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables and to suggest the health problems associated with not eating enough (see teacher’s notes).

Ask children to suggest reasons why many children don't eat enough fruit and vegetables and to suggest ways of persuading them to eat more.

Suggest the children keep a record of the number of portions of fruit and vegetables they eat over a period of a week or more.

 

Taking The Message Home

Suggest the children join the Arty Beat Club of the British Heart Foundation. Members receive newsletters and a fridge magnet to record fruit and vegetable consumption (registration leaflets and samples are provided with this pack or tel: 020 7935 0135 for more)

  

Action Pack, section 1 provides more information on the Grab 5! campaign
Maths, Activity 12: How many portions?

 
 


Next Page