Source: TV411: Episode 108
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Living with Diabetes
(Video)
National K -12 Subject:
Lesson Plans Using this Resource:
In this video segment from TV411, May is grocery shopping for her mother, who has just been diagnosed with diabetes. Laverne helps May read and interpret the nutrition information on a box of cookies, so she will know how to help her mother eat healthily and manage her diabetes.
Download and ShareHere are some Frame, Focus and Follow-up suggestions for using this video in a math lesson.
What is Frame, Focus and Follow-up?
Frame: Let’s say you had $12 to spend on lunch for four days of school. You want to spend the same amount each day. How much would you spend each day? What percentage of your money are you spending each day?
Focus: In this video segment, you will learn about the information found on a nutrition labels on a package of food. Listen carefully when May and Laverne discuss the fat content in one serving size of cookies. What percentage of the daily fat intake do the two cookies provide? How do May and Laverne figure this out?
Follow Up: List some of the information found on the nutrition label on the box of cookies associated with one serving size of cookies. Why do you think percentages are particularly important when thinking about the amount of food a diabetic might eat?
LAVERNE: Oh, hi, May! How are you?
MAY: Oh, hi, Laverne. Oh, well, I've been better. I just took my mother to the doctor and he told her she has diabetes.
LAVERNE: Oh, no! Oh…
MAY: No, she's going to be okay. She just has to start taking medication, start watching what she eats, and since she lives with me, I guess that means I've got to help her watch her sugar.
LAVERNE: Do you read the labels on the back of the packages? Because then you choose with your head, and not with your stomach.
MAY: No, I don't.
LAVERNE: Oh, May, I'm surprised at you!
MAY: Okay, okay. But what does this all mean?
LAVERNE: Okay, well, first they tell you what's in a serving size. And guess what?
MAY: What?
LAVERNE: This is not a serving size.
MAY: Two!? Two!?
LAVERNE: Yup. Two is the serving size that all the numbers on this label are based on.
MAY: I could eat two cookies like that!
LAVERNE: I know, I know, it's shocking, isn't it? And each cookie is fifty calories, right, so a serving of two is a hundred calories.
MAY: Ouch.
LAVERNE: Yeah. So if you eat ten, you have to multiply the calories per serving by five.
MAY: Oh, good heavens! That's five hundred calories!
LAVERNE: Yeah, well, keep going.
MAY: Okay, calories, got that.
LAVERNE: And lot's of fat. And fat has nine calories in a gram.
MAY: Hmm, gram. Now, is that the "g"?
LAVERNE: Yeah, "g" is for the gram. It's a little tiny measurement smaller than an ounce. You know those little packets of sweetener you get in a restaurant?
MAY: Yeah…
LAVERNE: Well, that much of something is a gram. And a milligram, "mg", that's really small, it's like, a thousandth of a gram.
MAY: Gee, so, six grams in a serving, that's six times nine calories, equals…fifty-four calories from fat!
LAVERNE: You see right here? The recommended daily allowance for a two thousand calorie diet? Fat: sixty-five grams. Carbohydrates: three hundred grams. Protein, fiber, it's all here.
MAY: So in two little cookies, there's ten percent of all the fat you can have in a day?
LAVERNE: Two little cookies.
MAY: I could eat a dozen of these on my way to the car! Gosh, I had no idea.
LAVERNE: And just for the record, there are four calories in every gram of protein or carbohydrate.
MAY: Well, that's less than half the calories of fat per gram. So, where does the sugar fit into all this?
LAVERNE: Carbohydrates. See, carbohydrates, like fruits, all contain natural sugars. And complex carbohydrates, like grains, do too, but they go into your system slowly to give you energy. It's the added sugars, like in cookies and sodas and candies, that your Mom really needs to watch out for.
MAY: Well, thanks, Laverne, for all of your help.
LAVERNE: Oh, no, where are you going, Girl? We're not through yet! I'm going to give you a little tip. Always look at the ingredients. Because the manufacturers always list the ingredients by putting what the use the most first. And…okay, so tell me, what are the first ingredients?
MAY: Let's see, enriched flour, sweet chocolate, sugar…
LAVERNE: That's the added sugar I was talking about, remember? And this is what everybody should watch out for, especially someone with diabetes. Always check the top three ingredients. And let me tell you something about sugar: they are so sneaky. Sometimes they don't even call it sugar. They call it maltose, or sucrose, or dextrose, or mannitol!
MAY: So how am I supposed to know if it's sugar?
LAVERNE: Well, if it ends in -ose or -tol, it's sugar.
MAY: -Ose or -tol, okay. And all of this is on the label?
LAVERNE: Right there in black and white.
MAY: You're pretty proud of yourself, aren't you, Laverne?
LAVERNE: That I am. There's nothing I like better than educating a consumer.
MAY: Well, this calls for a celebration. Want a cookie?
LAVERNE: Oh, have you not listened to anything…?
MAY: Oh, I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding!
LAVERNE: …Something I just spent a half-hour telling you about, oh…!
NARRATOR: Let's take a second look. If you'd like to check out food labels the next time you go shopping, here's what to look for. First, find out the serving size. A package might contain only one serving, or it might contain ten or more. Then figure out what part of the total calories come from fat. And always check out the ingredients. You might be surprised at what you find.
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