Designing a Healthier, Happier Meal

Skip Main Navigation
  • Home
  • Lesson Activities
    • Introduction
    • What Is Obesity?
    • Fast Food and Obesity
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Typical Fast Food Meal
    • Supersizing
    • Fast Food Marketing
    • A Legal Matter
    • Your Challenge
    • The Engineering Design Process
    • Explore Possibilities
    • Explore Possibilities: Mathematics
    • Children's Meal Data
    • Explore Possibilities: Biology
    • Explore Possibilities: Social Studies
    • Explore Possibilities: Art
    • Explore Possibilities: Health
    • Select an Approach and Design Your Proposal
    • Make a Prototype and Test Your Design
    • Refine and Create Your Final Children's Meal
    • Communicate Your Results
  • Student Resources
    • Table of Contents
    • Glossary
    • Engineering Portfolio
    • More to Explore
    • Assessment Rubric for Argumentative Essay
    • Assessment Rubric for Final Project
  • Teacher Resources
    • Lesson Preparation
    • Lesson Overview
    • Objectives
    • Using This Site
    • Technology
    • Schedule
    • Essential Questions
    • Enduring Understandings
    • Background Information
    • Teacher Notes
    • Appendices
  • STEM Careers
  • Introduction
  • Lesson Activity 1
  • Lesson Activity 2
  • Lesson Activity 3
  • Lesson Activity 4
  • Lesson Activity 5
  • Lesson Activity 6
  • Lesson Activity 7
  • Lesson Activity 8
  • Lesson Activity 9
  • Lesson Activity 10
  • Lesson Activity 11

Fast Food and Obesity

Did your research help you to understand obesity? Obesity Obesity is a condition in which a person weighs more than is considered healthy for his or her height. It is usually determined by body mass indexbody mass index, or BMI. If a person's BMI is over 30, that person is considered obese.

bmi chart
BMI numbers are calculated the same for children, teens, and adults, but the criteria used to determine a healthy weight is different. For children and teens, sex and age are taken into consideration because the amount of body fat changes with age and differs between boys and girls.

Three key factors contribute to overweight and obesity: genetics, lack of physical activity and high caloric intake.

Many fast food restaurants offer consumers food choices that are high in added sugar, salt, calories and fat. Portion sizes have also increased over the years, which have contributed to higher caloric intake. Fast food companies aggressively market their products, thereby increasing demand for potentially unhealthy food. You will look at these issues-nutritional content, portion size and marketing-in more depth in the next three activities.

Teacher Note

In this activity, students will consider the role that fast food plays in our nation's obesity epidemic. Go over the definition of obesity and make sure students understand obesity and Body Mass Index.

Read More

Essential Questions

  • What is obesity?
  • What role does fast food play in our nation's obesity crisis?
<< Go to First page < Go to Previous page
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to page 5
  • Go to page 6
  • Go to page 7
  • Go to page 8
  • Go to page 9
  • Go to page 10
  • Go to page 11
  • Go to page 12
  • Go to page 13
  • Go to page 14
  • Go to page 15
  • Go to page 16
  • Go to page 17
  • Go to page 18
  • Go to page 19
  • Go to page 20
  • Go to page 21
Go to Next page> Go to Last page>>
Site Map | Accessibility | About

This website is a production of Maryland Public Television/Thinkport in collaboration with the Maryland State Department of Education. The contents of this website were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

Thinkport Maryland State Department of Education Maryland - STEM education

2013 Copyright Maryland State Department of Education

Creative Commons logo

Contact the MSDE Office of Instructional Technology for copyright questions.