​ Healthy Eating and Eating Disorders - ​Answers

1. ​Do ethnic diets conform to the suggested requirements show in the food pie?
- Yes, they all include the food groups in around the same proportions, though there are
exceptions in certain cultures, e.g. vegetarians and Iranians. ​Energy and nutrient
requirements stay the same between humans, regardless of ethnicity.

2. ​Is 2 fruits 5 veg supported by the food pie?

- Yes, the “2 and 5” campaign is supported by the Food Pie. For those 4 years old and
over a sample serve of 2-9 vegetables and legumes is recommended. For 4 years and
older a sample serve of 1-5 fruits is recommended. The 2 and 5 campaign supports the
recommended servings in the Food Pie, the food pie also recommends a certain number
of fruits and vegetables each day for a healthy diet, supporting the basis of the entire
campaign. ​It is a good general average that can be applied to most people, making it a
good slogan for all.
3. ​Choose one of the sections of the food pie and find out what happens to your body if it
was removed from your diet
- By removing dairy from your diet, you are cutting out a significant intake of calcium and
vitamins in your diet. Results of cutting dairy include:
- Brittle bones – calcium is vital for stronger bones. Calcium is important to
strengthen and fortify your bones, not consuming calcium in your diet significantly
weakens bones and leads to a higher risk of bone related diseases, such as
osteoporosis.
- Loss of bone mass and bones become porous and weak.

4. ​What changes should you make to your diet if you are training for a sporting event?
- Foods rich in unrefined carbohydrates, such as whole-grain breads and cereals make a
large basis of a diet when training for sporting events. The amount of protein
recommended for those training for a sporting event is only slightly higher than normal
people. Vitamins and minerals such as iron, for hemoglobin. More water, more fruits and
vegetables for vitamins and minerals.

5. ​‘A quarter chicken and chips is a good lunch snack for an active teenager.’ Is this
statement true or false? Justify your answer.
- The statement is false. The chicken and chips only a provide a small section of the food
pie, and there is a lot left to be desired. By only eating chips and chicken, you are
covering the legume and poultry section of the food pie, but leaving many sections out,
such as breads, dairies and fruit. Chips and chicken alone are not healthy enough to
cover the variety of foods recommended in a healthy diet. As a constant meal, this can
be detrimental to your health. Days’ worth of protein in a single snack, potatoes are low
in vitamins and mineral.
6. ​What proportions should our diet be:
a) 35% Breads, cereals etc.
b) 15% Dairies
c) 15% Fruit
d) 25% Vegetables
e) 10% Lean meats, poultry, eggs, fish

7. ​How much water should you have during the day? Does everyone need the same
amount? What factors will determine how much water you need during the day.
- Adults are recommended to drink 8 glasses of water every day. During physical activity
and hot weather this should be higher. Body water content is higher in men than women,
and older age reduces this amount for both. 2.5 – 3 litres is lost every day by a healthy
adult, and must be replaced. The younger you are, the less you need to drink. Less body
weight means less water needed to drink. Pregnant women need to drink more water.

8. ​What food should you have the least of and why? Is this the case for your current diet?
- Known as discretionary choices, these foods are not necessary for a healthy diet, and so
should only be eaten occasionally. Examples of discretionary choices are cakes,
pastries, processed meats, commercial burgers with high fat and salt content, ice cream,
chocolate, potato crisps. High in fat, salt and sugar content, should be eaten only on
occasion.

9. ​Some people have food allergies. If a person is allergic to dairy products how do they
obtain the nutrients normally supplied by the dairy products?
- The nutrients supplied by milk can be obtained by products such as soy milk, coconut
milk, hemp milk and almond milk. Soybeans and tofu ​or kale (dark green leafy
vegetables)​. Supplements can also be used.
10. ​Should the diet of a small child differ from that of an adult? If so, how?
-They eat less, as they need less vitamins, minerals fats and carbohydrates every day. Serving
sizes are lower. ​The energy needed to sustain themselves is lower.

11. ​Breakfast is considered to be one of the most important meals of the day. Breakfast
cereals are a typical food for an Australian family. Why is starting your day with cereal a
good option? What other alternatives are there to a cereal breakfast.
- Cereal is high in carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins to fuel you for the rest of the day.
It breaks the fast conducted overnight. Alternatives could be toast, oats, burritos and
rice.

12. ​Choose one fruit or veg and investigate why it is so important to have in your diet
- Orange, reduces stroke risk, lowers blood pressure, boosts immunity, prevents radicals
that form cancer. Protect against common infections.
13. ​How important is it to balance your level of activity with the amount and type of food
you eat?
- Your input should adjust to your output. More exercise if you eat more and vice versa.
More exercise if you have more carbohydrate food.

Part B
1. ​Which group has the:
a) Greatest proportion of overweight and obese people?
- Boys aged 15-17
b) Lowest proportion of obese people?
- Boys aged 2-4
c) Proportions most similar to the total figures?
- Boys aged 10-14

2. ​Explain the impact or reasons for the following main factors being implicated in rising
levels of obesity among children and adolescents:
a) Increasing energy intake
- As your energy intake increases your output should also increase. ​More energy intake
without an increase in activity leads to a buildup of fat → obesity
b)​ Increasing sedentary lifestyles
- By not exercising and living a sedentary lifestyle, obesity and being overweight has
increased over the years, as exercising is an important part of staying healthy, and
losing weight. Leisure activities have become more normalized. Input does not equal
output.
c)​ Decreased walking, cycling and transport related physical activity
- Not as much exercise, less weight lost. Physical activity is vital, and a decrease in
transport related physical activities has lowered the amount of exercise done, and
increased obesity. Increase in technological transportation.
d)​ Changes in family structures and dynamic
- When both parents are working, healthy foods cannot be made. Kids take inspiration
from parents, they too can become obese. Unhealthy lifestyle of parents can spread to
kids.

3. ​Explain how these psychological and social problems could impact on treatment of
obesity?
-People can be afraid of losing weight with help, due to social problems, such as bullying,
mocking and embarrassment. For example, an obese or overweight person may be afraid to go
to the gym, as they are embarrassed and afraid of bullying, due to low self-esteem and negative
stigma. If they are this way it can become to treat their problem

4. ​What are some long term physical/medical consequences of childhood obesity?

 - Physically, obesity during adolescence increases risks to diseases and disorders later in
life. These include coronary heart disease, diabetes, hip fracture and gout. Can’t
exercise as much, unhealthy lifestyle. Type 2 diabetes. Amputations.

5. ​Females are more affected by these eating disorders than males? 2 reasons

- Women experience more negative brain activity in the parietal lobe in response to their
bodies compared to men. This is due to neurobiological reasons, as women are more
dissatisfied about their bodies than men, they therefore are more susceptible to eating
disorders. This can be both eating too little or too much.
Societal pressure on women to be thinner and therefore puts pressure on them to eat little in
hope that they lose weight.

6. ​New rules introduced in 2006/7 banned skinny models from fashion shows, why?
- These rules were imposed to prevent eating disorders in models and aspiring models,
and to prevent inaccessible and unrealistic ideals of beauty. Models try and replicate
“skinny” look.

7. ​How could you recognise when someone has an eating disorder?

- Frequent weight change, faint, dizzy, low energy, bad breath, bad teeth from vomiting,
they’re sensitive about eating habits and comments on their habits. Swelling around
throat from vomiting.

8. ​How could you help someone with an eating disorder?

- Educate yourself about eating disorders beforehand, be prepared for aggressive
response, don’t use manipulative response, don’t say “you should eat more/less”. Ask
health professionals, get advice from doctors.

Part C
1.​ Give a reason for these people being excluded from using BMI
- Children grow at different rates, develop muscles and fat at different rates ​(children
under 18)
- Pregnant women are carrying around additional “baggage”, so more variables.
(pregnant)
- Old people have loss of weight, metabolism and overall health, body is beginning to
break down, faster than it is being repaired. Underweight as weight has decreased
significantly. ​(sedentary elderly people)
- Athletes have more muscle, muscle weighs more than fat. Athletes have extremes
depending on the sport they participate in. ​(athletes or body builders)
NOTE: ​BMI assumes that all people have same muscle mass in body.
2. ​People can have different body forms: ectomorphs, mesomorphs and endomorphs.
How can body form affect BMI.
● Ectomorphs – lanky and tall, hard to put on weight no matter how much they eat, also
very hard to build muscle.
● Mesomorphs – Medium height and well built. They can build muscle and gain weight.
Higher metabolism, and so can put on muscle well.
● Endomorph – Short and “pear-shaped” put on weight easier and gain muscle easier.
Higher tendency to store fat.
3. ​Three different people have a BMI of 25. What other information would you need to
know if you were to make a judgement about ‘being overweight’.
- Height, weight,body form, pregnancy, athlete, age.

4. ​If someone said they had a BMI of 23.4, what would you picture?
- Mesomorph body build, medium height and they’ll be well built.

5. ​What factors have influenced your BMI over the last 12 months
- Growth spurts, diet, physical activity, sleep duration, education.

6. ​What factors may influence your BMI over the next 12 months
- Growth spurts, diet, physical activity, sleep duration, education.

7. ​What is the primary cause of obesity?

- High intake, low intake.

8. ​The Western Australian government has had at least 2 advertising campaigns

addressing the obesity issue:
a. ‘Find 30’
- Find physical activity for 30 minutes every day
b. ‘Unplug and play’
- Unplug your devices and go outside to play, do more physical activity rather than staying
indoors.

9. ​Obesity rates in rural areas are much less that among urban adolescents, give reasons
- Less access to technology so people are not inclined to stay indoors and live more
sedentary lifestyles.
- More activities that are physical, increased space to play outside and spend time
outdoors.

10. ​Obese people have higher than average blood pressure. Explain why?
- More fat = more vascular resistance, and your heart needs to pump harder. Also more
fat means more body cells that require blood to be pumped to them, and so your heart
needs to pump harder.
11. ​On average a body contains 1 L of blood per 10 kg of body mass. How would obesity
affect heart rate to supply oxygen efficiently to all body cells. Does this explain why
obese people become puffed quickly when exercising?
- The more body cells, oxygen must be distributed in between more cells, therefore
anaerobic respiration begins to occur quicker, and lactic acid also builds up quicker.
Therefore, obese people become more puffed, as cells become starved for oxygen.
Increased heart rate to distribute oxygen. Excess body fat, so blood is spread less
efficiently.

12. ​Explain how obesity increases cardiovascular problems

- The heart needs to work harder to distribute the blood around the body, and so it wears
out, or degenerates at a faster rate.

13. ​ In the program “The Biggest Loser” all the contestants lose weight. How is this
managed?
- They exercise and they go on diets. Decreased input and increased output.

​ hat is the problem of losing excessive weight quickly?

14. W
- Losing weight too quickly, you end up losing muscle and water, rather than weight. Of
the foods you eat, you end up losing the nutritional value of those as well. If on an
extreme diet, there can be deficiencies