Food is important for life. To be healthy and active, weshould certainly have enough food. But the foods we eat should also be safe andrich in all the nutrients our body needs. We should choose from a wide varietyof foods and we should eat them regularly, throughout the day, every day of theyear. Do not forget that we should also enjoy the food that we eat; it shouldlook, smell and taste good. Without good nutrition, children and young peoplecannot develop their potential to the full, and adults will have difficulty indoing their best.
Food provides our bodies with what they need to:
stay alive, beactive, move and work;
build new cells and tissuesfor growth;
stay healthy and healthemselves;
prevent and fightinfections.
This section of your Handbook provides 9 activities that canbe used to help your Youth Club members to learn about the basic functions offoods and the importance of getting enough of all the nutrients in a person'sdiet.
Notes
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Activity 1.1: How FoodWorks
To understand the 4 different Food Groups and their functionsin the body | |
Life skills: | Recognising self-worth |
| Food Guide Posters |
Preparation: | Make your Workpad poster by taking one sheet of yourWorkpad and writing "Functions of Food" across the top of the page with yourmarker. Then underneath this, write down the KEY WORDS as shown on theright: |
Functions of Food
growth &development
muscles,
bones andteeth
energy
healthybodies
fightingdisease
good brains
healthy organs
If you think it is a good idea, rather write these keywords in your own language, so that group members may understand thembetter.
You may make your poster more attractive by drawingpictures or cutting them from magazines to best show these key words and gluethem next to each point. For instance, you may have a picture of a smiling mouthto show healthy teeth, or draw a picture of someone running or playing soccer toshow energy.
Save this Workpad poster to use again when doing this activitywith other youth groups.
Food Group Cards. Take 4 pieces of paper or cardboardand using your marker, write the name of each food group on a different piece:1. Cereals, 2. Fruit and Vegetables, 3. Meat, Fish, Milk and Beans, 4. Fats andSugars
Save these in your Kit to use again.
Introduction
1. Explain to your group members that in this Activityeveryone will learn to understand the 4 different Food Groups and why a varietyof foods are needed by the body.
Experience
2. Display the Food Guide poster and ask everyone to sit wherethey can all see it clearly.
3. Explain that, even though they may not think so, all thegroup members already have knowledge about why food is so important for ourbodies. This knowledge has come from their family members, (parents,grandparents, other relatives) as well as what they have learned inschool.
4. Encourage your participants to remember and share what theyhave learned by naming the things that foods do for the body. Answers to expectare:
Growth anddevelopment
Develop strong muscles,bones and teeth;
Keep our bodies warm and giveus energy;
Keep our bodies healthyby helping our immune systems to prevent or fight disease;
Repair or healing ofinjuries.
Helps our brains togrow and function properly
Development and proper workingof our organs: heart, kidneys, lungs, liver, etc.
5. Point to the picture on the Food Guide poster andexplain that all foods fall into these 4 basic groups. Ask if anyone can namethese, which are: 1. Cereals, 2. Fruit and Vegetables, 3. Meat, Fish, Milk andBeans, 4. Fats and Sugars
Process
6. Put up your Workpad poster next to the Food Guideposter.
7. Ask your participants to form 4 groups and give each groupone of the Food Group cards.
8. Explain that each group has 5 minutes to think about thelist of KEYWORDS on your Workpad poster, discuss among themselves and then tellthe other groups which of the functions of food on the body are given by theFood Group on their Food Group card.
| It is important that everyone should understand that groupmembers should not be interrupted or corrected by the others, but let everyonefinish their explanations. |
Apply
9. When everyone has finished, have them all come togetheragain as one large group.
10. Have your participants look at the Food Guide Posteragain. Explain that:
the biggest group,Grains, contains the nutrients which provide energy and warm our bodiesand should be eaten in larger quantities;
Fruit and vegetablesprovide many vitamins and minerals to help our immune systems;
Proteins from meat,dairy foods, seeds, nuts, etc help to build our
muscles;
Fats and sugars areconcentrated sources of energy, so should be eaten in much smaller quantities.Fats and oils especially give a lot of energy (more than double that of sugars).For those people who need more energy (for instance, if they are undernourishedor are doing heavy physical work) fats, oils and sugar can be useful sources ofenergy.
However, for people who are already overweight (fat) too muchfat, oil and sugar can make their situation worse and lead to seriousoverweight, which is not only uncomfortable, but makes a person less active andaffects the heart and blood circulation.
Activity 1.2: The Importance ofVariety
Project skill: | To understand why a variety of different foods from the 4 FoodGroups foods are needed by the body. |
Life skills: | Recognising self-worth |
| Food Guide Posters |
Preparation: | This preparation should be discussed and explained at the endof the meeting for the previous activity. |
Divide your participants into pairs or small groups of 3 or 4people. Explain that in preparation for this activity, they should work togetherto name traditional and veld foods and try to list each food into the Food Groupto which it belongs.
Introduction
1. Explain to your group members that in this Activityeveryone will build on what they have already learned about the functions offood in order to understand why a variety of foods from the 4 Food Groups areneeded by the body.
Experience
2. Display the Food Guide poster and ask everyone tosit where they can all see it clearly.
3. Divide your group members into 4 smaller groups and giveeach group one of the Food Group Cards that you made for the previousactivity.
4. Explain that the groups have about 5 minutes to think aboutand remember what they learned in that activity about the Functions of the 4Food Groups, and that each group will be asked to present the function of theirFood Group to the rest of the group members.
5. When the groups are ready, let somebody from each grouphave a turn to tell everybody what their Food Group is and explain the functionsof this Food Group.
6. Before moving on to the next step, make sure that theinformation presented is understood properly by reading out the informationgiven in Step 10 of the last activity.
7. Point out the guideline: "Eat a Variety of Foods"on the Food Guide poster and ask someone from among your groupmembers:
"Can you explain why these 4 main Food Groups are important for somany things?"
8. After the first person has had a chance to give theirexplanation, encourage the group to discuss the question and give theirresponses.
Responses to expect are:
These 4 Groupscontain many different things call nutrients, and each nutrient has a differentjob within the body.
Some nutrients need to becombined with other ones before they can work properly.
Some foods contain a fewdifferent nutrients and not all foods contain the same ones. This is why it isimportant for us to eat a variety of different foods from all 4 Food Groups, tomake sure that our bodies get the right kinds of nourishment to help them towork properly.
Listen to the explanations and help the person bycorrecting or explaining points which they have not understood.
Process
9. Ask the pairs or teams to now take turns to describe theirlists of traditional and veld foods to the rest of the group members andexplain which Food Group to which each food belongs.
Encourage the presenters to refer to the Food Guidepicture on the Poster if they think this will help them to get theirexplanations right.
10. Let everyone discuss the presentations and encourage allgroup members to think about how their traditional or local foods can help toensure that someone gets enough of a variety of foods from the 4 FoodGroups.
Explain that everyone will learn more about planning to useTraditional and local foods for Healthy Eating in later Activities.
Apply
11. End the activity with a discussion about sharingknowledge. Encourage the discussion by asking questions such as:
Do you think it isimportant that people are encouraged to discover their own knowledge (forexample, what they have learned at school or elsewhere about the Food Groups andthe need for a variety of foods)?
How do you think you havebenefited by from this activity?
Do you think that sharingknowledge and working together is a good way to help others?
Why do you think so?
What problems did you havewith learning in this way and how do you think they can be solved?
What have you learned fromthis activity?
Other activities
Try to encourage suggestions for other activities which mayhelp your Youth Club members to understand the Food Groups, their functions andthe need to eat a variety of foods.
For example, they may enjoy working together to make postersshowing foods from the 4 Food Groups and what they do for the body. Posters suchas the one on the next page can be made from a piece of flat box cardboard withdrawings and magazine pictures glued on it. Foods such as noodles, rice andseeds, as well as food labels from tins, packets or boxes can also be glued ontothe poster to make it attractive.
| Remember to tell your group members that when they use oldfood containers or other pieces of rubbish for making artwork, they shouldALWAYS make sure that these items are properly cleaned before working withthem. |
Notes
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Activity 1.3: Find theFoods
Project skill: | Solving a word puzzle to remember the words and foods of the 4Food Groups. |
Life skills: | Communicating |
| Pencils |
Preparation: | Ask everyone to bring pencils for use in thisactivity. |
Make enough copies of the Find the Foods Handout sothat each group may have one.
Introduction
1. Explain that group members will solve a word puzzle toremember the words and foods in the 4 Food Groups.
Experience
2. Ask the youth to form small groups of 2 or 3, depending onhow many copies of the Find the Foods handout you have.
3. Hold up a copy of Find the Foods handout and readaloud the two paragraphs above the puzzle. Show them one example of how thewords can be found in the puzzle (horizontally, vertically or diagonally) bydrawing a line around it.
4. Give a copy of the Find the Foods handout to eachgroup. If you think it might be helpful, explain the directions again and ask ifthey have any questions.
Process
5. Let everyone go ahead and find the hidden words, drawing aline around each word.
6. Move among the groups and help any that are havingdifficulty understanding what they should do, but do not solve the puzzle forthem.
The completed Food Search puzzle should look like theexample shown on the right
7. When all the groups have completed the activity, askeveryone to come together again as a whole group.
Apply
8. Guide a discussion by asking the followingquestions:
What did you learnfrom this activity?
Describe how you communicatedwith each other as you did this activity.
Could you have improved theway you communicated?
How can you use what you havelearned from this activity?
Handout: Find the Foods
This activity is to learn some nutrition vocabulary words in afun and easy way. The activity also helps us to learn how to communicate withothers in a team as we work to solve the puzzle.
Directions: The 4 Food Groups are very important forour bodies to grow and function properly. The names of those Food Groups andsome foods are listed below the puzzle, and these have been hidden in thepuzzle. Work together in your groups to find those 9 words. The words can behorizontal, vertical or diagonal. When you find a word, draw a line aroundit.
Draw a line around each of the following words in thesquares above:
VEGETABLES | FATS | CEREALS |
MAHANGU | BEANS | |
FISH | FRUIT | |
MILK | SUGARS |
Notes
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Activity 1.4: Dancing FoodGroups
Project skills: | Remembering what was learned in previous activities |
Life skills: | Acquiring knowledge. |
Introduction
1. Explain to your group members that in this activity theywill remember what they have learned in previous activities and use thisknowledge to create songs and dances about food groups and theirfunctions.
Experience
2. Ask your group members to form groups of 3 - 6people.
3. Explain that each group should create a song and dancewhich would help others to learn about the food groups and theirfunctions.
4. Let the groups find a quiet place, where the other groupscan't hear them, to create a song and practice it with their dance.
Give the groups about 15 minutes to practice.
5. Ask the groups to come back and let each group have a turnto perform their song and dance for the others. How can you use what you havelearned from this activity?
Process
6. Let everyone come together to form one largegroup.
7. Lead a discussion about the performances by asking thefollowing questions:
Was it difficultor easy for you to make a song and dance about food groups and theirfunctions?
Did you remember theinformation you learned about these topics?
What information did youchoose to use in your song and which information did you leave out?Why?
What did you learn from thatactivity?
How did creating a song anddance help you learn about nutrition?
Apply
8. End the activity with a discussion about using these songsand dances at a community or public meeting to help others to learn aboutnutrition and the 4 Food Groups. Ask questions to guide thisdiscussion.
What examples doyou know of ways in which songs and dances tell people messages?
(Radio and TV advertising, community theatre for HIV/AIDS,etc)
How could our songs and danceshelp our community?
Where does our community havepublic meetings so that we could ask to show what we have learned during themeeting?
Who would be good to ask tolearn about such meetings?
Would it be a good idea tosing our songs after church on Sunday?
Should we talk to the pastoror church elders?
Activity 1.5: Basic Facts aboutNutrients
Project skill: | Understanding the functions of some important nutrients in thebody and learning about their food sources. |
Life skill: | Acquiring knowledge. |
| Copies of the Basic Facts about NutrientsHandout. |
Preparation: | Find at least 2 actual examples or pictures of a good foodsource of each nutrient listed on the form. If possible, include examples offoods that are grown locally or found in the veld or bush. Place the foodsand/or pictures on a surface or table so that the group can see them. |
Functions of Food
growth &development
muscles,
bones andteeth
energy
healthybodies
fightingdisease
good brains
healthy organs
Make copies of the Basic Facts Handout.
Make sureyou have read and understand this Handout before you present thisactivity.
If it was not possible to make enough copies of theBasic Facts Handout for everyone to have a copy, then read theinformation out slowly, point by point, and let everyone write the informationin their note books at then end of the activity.
Introduction
1. Put up your Workpad Poster from Activity 1.1 and read outthe points for the "Functions of Food".
Explain to your group members that this activity is to helpthem to understand the functions of some important nutrients the body andlearning about their food sources.
Experience
2. Tell your group members that they are going to start thisactivity by playing a warm-up game about the functions of nutrients inprotecting the body.
3. Ask everyone to form into 3 groups:
Group A: GermsMake People Sick
This group should plan ways to make a lot of noise and"attack" group B during the game.
Group B: HealthyPeople
Ask this group to think of ways to show that they are happy,healthy and relaxed, when group A tries to attack them during thegame.
Group C: ProtectiveNutrients
This group needs to think about how, as important nutrients,they will protect group B from the attack by group A.
4. Give the Groups a chance to practice and then let them playthe game for 5 - 10 minutes.
5. Ask the group everyone to discuss and explain what theythink they understood from the game about how nutrients can fight disease andkeep our bodies healthy.
6. Remind everyone that, although nutrients protect the body,this is not their only function. Explain that it is important for our bodies getthe right nutrients to make sure that ALL their functions in the body areprovided for.
Process
7. Let everyone come together in one large group and give outcopies of the Basic Facts about Nutrients Handout.
8. Read through the Handout, carefully going through theinformation on each nutrient. As you go through the Handout, encourage yourgroup members to think about and discuss the information by asking questions,such as:
Does anyone knowwhy protein is important to the body?
What foods are good sources ofvitamin A?
Do you know of wild veld foodsthat might be good sources of iron?
9. As you talk about the sources of each nutrient, hold up theexamples or pictures of food sources that you have collected for that nutrient.Keep encouraging group members to share whatever they know about the nutrientfunctions and food sources.
10. Explain that Vitamin A, niacin, iodine and iron are beingemphasised because many Namibians do not get enough of these vitamins andminerals; therefore many are suffering from malnutrition and even deficiencydiseases (a 'deficiency disease' is not caused by a germ, but happens when thebody does not get enough of a certain nutrient).
Apply
9. End this activity with a discussion on what your groupmembers have learned. Lead the discussion by asking the followingquestions:
Did you know mostof these facts before we began this activity?
Did any of these factssurprise you?
What did you learn fromplaying the game?
How do you think that playingsuch games helps with learning? Why?
Can you think of better ideasfor learning games?
Why is it important to learnthese basic facts about nutrients?
What could happen if peopledon't know these basic facts?
How will you use your newknowledge about the nutrients needed by our bodies?
What happens to the body if wedo not eat enough vitamins and minerals?
What do you think is thegeneral function of Vitamins in our body?
What is the function ofIron in the body?
What local foods are goodsources of iron?
What happens to your body ifyou do not eat enough Iron?
10. Explain that everyone will be using these Handouts infuture activities, and that the information is very important. If there are somepeople who have difficulty reading their Handouts, let them ask a friend orfamily member to help them to read the information again and to help them tounderstand it before future activities.
Handout: Basic Facts about Nutrients
Nutrient | Functions | Good Sources |
Protein | Helps us to grow, develop and repair muscles and tissues. Someprotein foods such as milk and eggs give us strong bones and teeth. | Marula nuts, eefulwa, ground nuts, pumpkin or !nara seeds,mopane worms, beef, pork, goat, fish, chicken, eggs, dried beans, peas, mieliesand lentils, cheese, omaere and yoghurt. |
Carbohydrates | Provide energy for the body. There are three kinds ofcarbohydrates: sugar, starch, and fibre. | Mahangu, sorghum, brown bread, rice, macaroni and othernoodles, mieliemeal, sugar, honey. |
Fats | Provide energy for the body and carry certain vitamins throughthe body. | Marula nut, ground nut, butter, margarine, cooking oil,seeds. |
Vitamin A | Needed for healthy eyesight and to prevent night blindness,(xerophtalmia). | Egg yolks, liver, butter, omaere, yoghurt. Deep yellow ororange fruits and vegetables, dark green vegetables: ombidi, pumpkin, butternut,carrots, spinach, rape, broccoli, pawpaw. |
Iodine | Iodine is for the thyroid gland (in the neck area), whichregulates growth and many body functions. A lack of iodine can lead to anenlargement of the thyroid gland called a goitre. | Iodised salt, seafood and foods which are grown in soil thatcontains iodine. |
Iron | Iron helps the body to make red blood cells, which carryoxygen from the lungs to cells throughout the body. A lack of iron can lead tothe disease called anaemia. | Mopane worms, beef, goat, pork, dark green leafy vegetablessuch as spinach and ombidi, brown bread, beans. |
Niacin | Helps the body to get energy from other nutrients and helpskeep the skin and nervous system healthy. A lack of niacin leads topellagra. | Whole grain cereals, meats and seeds: Brown bread, groundnuts,pumpkin and !nara seeds, sorghum, mahangu, meat, and chicken. |
Water | Water carries nutrients in the body and waste products fromthe cells and helps control body temperature. When the body does not have enoughwater, this can cause dehydration (drying out) | Water, milk, fruit juice, soups, tea and vegetables with highwater content such as lettuce, apples and potatoes. |
Not all of the vitamins and minerals needed by the bodyhave been mentioned in this list. The ones given here have special mentionbecause many Namibians do not always get enough of these in theirdiets.
Activity 1.6: Vitamin A
Project skill: | Learning about why it is important for everyone to get enoughVitamin A |
Life skills: | Acquiring knowledge |
| Basic Facts about Nutrients Handouts from the previous Activity |
Preparation: | Make enough copies of the Vitamin A Handout foreveryone in the group. |
Make sure you have read and understand the Vitamin AHandout before you present this activity.
Remind everyone to bring their Basic Facts about NutritionHandouts from the previous Activity, and ask them to make sure that they tryto read through and remember the information on Vitamin A from thatHandout.
Introduction
1. Explain to your group members that this Activity is foreveryone to learn more about why it is important for everyone to get enoughVitamin A.
Experience
2. Let your group members review what they learned aboutVitamin A in the last Activity by asking the following questions:
What are thefunctions of Vitamin A?
What are the food sources ofVitamin A?
Process
3. Give out the Vitamin A Handouts for thisActivity.
4. Ask someone to read the information on the Handout to therest of the members.
If there is difficulty with finding someone who can orwants to read, then you as Leader should read this out toeveryone.
Make sure that everyone in the group understands the factsabout Vitamin A before going to the next step.
Apply
5. Let the youth members have a discussion around thefollowing questions:
Is there enough ofa variety of food sources of Vitamin A available in our community?
Are there enough differentlocal food sources to provide Vitamin A through the year? Name these sources andin what season they are available.
What can we do to avoidgetting Vitamin A Deficiency?
(Eat Vitamin A-rich foods and take children to the clinicto receive Vitamin A capsules).
Why should we avoid gettingVitamin A deficiency?
(Blindness, poor eyesight and eye problems prevent childrenfrom learning, cause accidents and make it difficult for a person to work andearn a living. Having a lot of infections affects our health and makes it hardto work. Dry skin can be painful and give germs a place to causeinfections).
6. End this Activity by asking these questions:
What have youlearned from this Activity?
Do you think that you can usethe knowledge you gained in this activity to help members of your family andcommunity?
How would you dothis?
Do you think that there isenough information available for communities to learn about and understand theimportance of Vitamin A? If "Yes", explain. If "No" what do you think can bedone?
These are some good food sources of VitaminA
Information for this Activity and Handout © Government ofNamibia: "Prevention, Control & Treatment of Vitamin A Deficiency: PolicyGuidelines for Health Workers", Ministry of Health and Social Services
Handout: Vitamin A
Who needs Vitamin A?
Everybody needsVitamin A.
Women who breastfeedespecially need Vitamin A to help them to stay healthy and to pass on Vitamin Ato their children through breastmilk.
Young children need Vitamin Ato help them to grow, develop normally and stay healthy.
Vitamin A helps our health in many ways:
It helps ourbodies to fight many infections or diseases such as diarrhoea, measles, colds,coughs and malaria.
When young children receivethe Vitamin A that they need, they have a better chance to survive aninfection.
Young children have a specialneed for Vitamin A, because they are growing rapidly. Pregnant women needVitamin A to help the growth of their unborn child.
Vitamin A is important for theeyes, because it protects them and keeps them strong.
Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD):
All the Vitamin Athat we need must come from what we eat. The body can store extra Vitamin A sothat there is a reserve for times of need. When the store of Vitamin A in thebody is low, and we do not eat enough food sources, that is when we have VitaminA deficiency.
This deficiency can also becaused when we have diarrhoea or poor nutrition with not enough food sources ofVitamin A in the diet.
When there is Vitamin Adeficiency, many infections are more serious. Children can get more serioussicknesses and some can even die.
Vitamin A deficiency will makeit hard for a person to see in poor light or at night, or even make the personblind.
It is important to avoid VADby eating foods that are rich in Vitamin A and to make sure to take children tothe clinic to receive Vitamin A capsules.
Vitamin A supplements:
Young children andwomen who do not eat enough foods that have Vitamin A can be given the vitaminlike medicine. This is called Vitamin A Supplementation.
Who is most at risk of VAD?
Babies who are notbreastfed, babies and children up to 5 years of age and pregnant orbreastfeeding women are most at risk of VAD.
Children with measles,diarrhoea and malnutrition are especially at risk of VAD.
There are two 2 kinds of food sources of VitaminA:
1. Animal: liver, egg yolks, whole milk, animalbutter and whole small fish. These sources are better because their Vitamin A iseasily absorbed by the body.
2. Vegetable: orange or dark yellow fruits andvegetables (carrots, pumpkin, marula fruit, mango and pawpaw) dark green leafyvegetables.
Breastmilk is also very rich in Vitamin A, especially thefirst milk (colostrum).
Activity 1.7: Iodine
Project skill: | Learning about why it is important for everyone to get enoughIodine in the diet |
Life skills: | Acquiring knowledge |
| Basic Facts about Nutrients Handouts from Activity1.4 |
If possible, also try to get some other salt which is NOTIodised, either from a shop or if you have a salt pan somewhere in yourarea.
A teaspoon & and a saucer or clean plastic bottle lid (2lids if you can get 2 kinds of salt)
A needle or pin for opening Iodine test containers.
Preparation: Get the materials needed for thisactivity.
Go to the clinic and try to get enough copies of the Iodinefor better Health pamphlet for everyone in the group OR make copies of theIodine Handout supplied with this activity.
If these are difficult to get, then make sure that everyonegives your Kit copies back after the Activity so that you can use them againwhen doing this Activity with other groups.
Remind everyone to bring their Basic Facts about NutrientsHandouts from Activity 1.4, and ask them to make sure that they try to readthrough and remember the information on Iodine from that Handout.
Introduction
1. Explain to your group that in this Activity, they willlearn about why it is important that everyone gets enough Iodine in thediet
Experience
2. Let your group members explain what they already may knowabout why Iodine is important. If you have already conducted Activity 1.5:Basic Facts about Nutrients, encourage everyone to explain what theylearned about Iodine in that activity. Help these explanations by asking thefollowing questions:
Iodine isimportant for the functions of what gland in the body?
What are the food sources ofIodine?
Process
3. Give out the Iodine for Better Health pamphlets forthis Activity. If you do not have enough for everybody, let members form smallgroups so that they may share the copies from your Kit.
4. Ask someone from the group to read the information in thepamphlet to the rest of the members.
If there is difficulty with finding someone who can orwants to read, then you as Leader should read this out toeveryone.
5. Make sure that everyone in the group understands the factsabout Iodine in the pamphlet before going to the next step.
Iodine Testing
6. Ask everyone to gather around so that they can see thetesting clearly.
7. Place 2 teaspoonfuls of Iodised Salt into the plastic lidor container. Spread it flat.
If you also managed to get some Uniodised salt, put 2teaspoonfuls of that into the second plastic lid or container.
Take one of thesmall plastic bottles (ampoules) of testing fluid from the Iodine TestingKit.
Shake the bottle or ampoulewell before you use it.
Open the seal of the bottle(ampoule) by pushing the needle or pin into it.
Carefully squeeze the bottleuntil one drop of testing fluid falls onto the salt.
If you have Uniodised salt, dothe same to this.
8. Look on the side of the Iodine Testing Kit box and you willsee a row of dots and numbers that looks like this:
9. Pass the Iodine Testing Kit box around so that all thegroup members can see the row of dots. Explain to everyone that:
The colour of thefirst, white dot (0) means that the salt would have no iodine in it
The second, pale (25) showsthat the salt has some iodine in it, but not enough
The middle, darker blue dot(50) has the right amount of iodine in it. The Namibian Government has made alaw that all salt for human consumption must be iodised and should have 50 partsof iodine per million.
The 2 very dark dots (75 and100) have a very large amount of iodine.
10. Explain to your members that this way of testing is usedby healthworkers and other professionals to see if the salt which people eat hasenough iodine.
11. Now let everyone look at the salt which you have tested tosee what colour it has become and if it has enough iodine in it.
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| Always close the bottle and Iodine Testing Kit boxwell after use and keep it stored in your kit bag to keep it cool. This way itwill last longer. |
Apply
12. Let the group members refer to their pamphlets or Handoutsand have a discussion around the following questions:
Who needsiodine?
What is the function of iodinein the body?
Do you know someone in yourfamily or community who has goitre?
There are not enough foodsources of Iodine in Namibia, so what should people do to make sure they getenough iodine?
What happens if people haveIodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD)?
When should Iodised Salt beadded to food?
How should Iodised Salt bestored?
13. End this Activity by asking these questions:
What have youlearned from this Activity?
Do you think that you can usethis knowledge to help members of your family and community?
How would you dothis?
Make sure to eat only Iodised Salt, but avoid eating toomuch salt.
Picture adapted from Food & Nutrition Guidelines forNamibia, courtesy of the Ministry of Health and Social Services
Information for this Activity and Handout © Government ofNamibia: "Iodine for Better Health", Ministry of Health and SocialServices
Notes
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Handout: Iodine for Better Health
What is iodine?
Iodine is a mineral that is very important for the productionof hormones. These hormones control the normal growth and development of thebody.
Where is iodine found?
Iodine is mainly found in sea water, soil and sea productssuch as fish.
Who needs iodine?
Everybody needs iodine.
Why does everybody need iodine?
Lack of iodine in food causes a group of disorders that wecall Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD).
1. Lack of iodine can lead to:
goitre (swellingof the neck gland)
2. In pregnant women, lack of iodine can leadto:
Improperdevelopment of the baby
Miscarriages (losing the babybefore it is developed and ready to be born)
Stillbirths (babies borndead)
3. In children, lack of iodine can leadto:
Mentalretardation
Failing to growproperly
Poor progress atschool
4. In adults, lack of iodine can leadto:
Infertility
Impotence in men
Heart failure
Loss of sensation inlegs
How can we prevent iodine deficiencydisorders?
We can prevent iodine deficiency disorders by using onlyiodised salt. Namibia's soil and water are poor in iodine and do not alwayssupply enough for our needs. That is why Namibia produces and imports its owniodised salt.
How should we use and store iodised salt?
Remember:
Iodine dissolveseasily in liquids
Iodine evaporateseasily
Iodine is destroyed easily byheat and during cooking
Storage:
Always keep iodised salt in a closed and dry container, sothat the iodine in the salt will be preserved.
Usage:
Add iodised salt to food on the table or when it is nearlycooked to avoid destroying the iodine.
Information provided by the Ministry of Health and SocialServices, Namibia
Activity 1.8: Nutrition CrosswordPuzzle
Project skill: | Solving a crossword puzzle to use knowledge about nutrientslearned in previous activities. |
Life skills: | Recognising self-worth |
| Pencils. |
Preparation: | Make enough copies of the Nutrition Crossword Puzzle so thateach group may have one. |
Ask everyone to bring pencils for use in thisactivity.
Introduction
1. Explain to everyone that in this activity they will useknowledge they have learned in previous activities to solve a crossword puzzleby using knowledge about nutrients.
Experience
2. Have your group members form themselves into smaller groupsof 3 - 4 people.
If there are some people who have difficulty with readingand writing, try to make sure that each small group has a least one member whohas enough skills to be able to help the others.
3. Give a copy of the Nutrition Crossword Puzzle to eachgroup.
Explain that the numbers in the squares of the crosswordpuzzle match with the numbered clues that are listed for the Across and Downwords.
If you think it would be helpful, read clue number 1 andask the participants what they think the word is. When they have identified thecorrect word, show them how to fill in the squares if they haven't done acrossword puzzle before, but do not give them any more answers.
Process
4. Ask the groups to continue with the puzzle until it iscompleted.
Move among the groups, helping those who might be havingdifficulty.
Apply
5. When everyone has completed the puzzle, ask the followingdiscussion questions:
What did you learnfrom this activity?
Did the activity help you toremember more about the basic nutrients?
Were there any words you haddifficulty thinking of?
Were some words easy for youto think of?
Why do you think some wordsare easy to think of and other words are harder to think of?
How can you use what youlearned from doing this crossword puzzle?
Answers to the puzzle
Across: | 2 = goitre; 3 = thyroid; 5 = iodine; 6 = Namibia; 12 = water;8 = eyes; |
Down: | 1 = fats; 2 = green; 4 = iron; 7 = marula; 9 = nuts; 10 =mopani; |
Handout: Crossword Puzzle
Across
2. A deficiency disease caused by a lack of iodine.
3. An enlargement of the _____ gland is caused by iodine deficiency.
5. Iodised salt is a good source of ____.
6. Sorghum is a good source of carbohydrates in which country?
8. Vitamin A helps keep the ____to stay healthy.
12. The nutrient needed to control body temperature.
14. Most meats and beans are a good source of this nutrient.
15. A good source of carbohydrates.
Down
1. The body needs _____ to provide energy for the body and carry certain vitamins through the body.
2. Dark _____ vegetables are a good source of Vitamin A.
4. _____ helps the body to make red blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs to cells throughout the body.
7. A good source of protein is the _____ nut.
9. _____ are good sources of protein and fats.
10. _____ worms are a good source of protein and iron.
13. Carbohydrates are the body's most important source of _____.
16. A deficiency disease caused by a lack of iron in the blood.
17. A lack of this nutrient leads to the disease called pellagra
Activity 1.9: Then andNow
This activity will take 2 group meetings tocomplete.
Project skill: | Compare the food and nutrition practices in Namibia today withthe practices in the past. |
Life skills: | Acquiring knowledge. |
| Paper and pencils for group members to write their interviewquestions. |
Preparation: | Tell all the group members that they will need to bring paperand pencils for this activity. |
Introduction
1. Explain to your group members that in this activity theywill compare the food and nutrition practices in Namibia today with thepractices in the past.
Experience
2. Tell everybody that this activity will give them a chanceto learn about what the food and nutrition situation was like in Namibia 20, 30or maybe even 40 years ago.
Explain that once they learn about the past, group memberswill be able to compare it with how things are today.
They can expect to learn:
what is thesame,
what is differentand
why these similarities anddifferences might exist.
3. Ask each person to think of an elderly person living in thearea. The person could be a relative, neighbour or even someone the young persondoes not know very well.
Explain that group members should work in pairs and will askthe elders if they may interview them about the food and nutrition situationwhen they (the elderly person) were young.
4. Lead a discussion for the group members to develop ideasfor how to explain to the elders the reasons for wanting to talk to them.Important points to remember are:
They shouldintroduce themselves politely.
The interviewers shouldexplain to the older person what they are doing and why they need this food andnutrition information. It is very important that the elder person understandswhat is needed and trusts the young people who are doing theinterview.
The interviewers should askpermission to write down the information and explain that this is necessary tohelp them to remember the information correctly.
It is important to thank theelders for sharing some of their knowledge and history.
5. Help your group members to develop the questions thatshould be asked in the interview. Some examples are:
Where did you liveas a young child? As a young adult?
When you were a young child,what foods did you eat most often?
When you were a child, didyour family grow a garden? If so, what did it grow?
Was there more food availableto you than now? Less? Why do you think that was so?
Were there any times when youwere very hungry because you did not have enough food? Tell me/us more aboutthis.
Please tell me what youusually eat and drink during a day.
How does this differ from whatyou usually ate and drank when you were younger?
Do you think the foodsituation in Namibia is better now than it was in the past? If so, how? Or, howis it worse?
Do you think people werehealthier in the past than they are now? If so, why? Or, how are they healthiernow?
What do you think are somereasons why the food situation has changed over the past years - if it haschanged?
What changes would you like tosee in what Namibians are eating now?
If your group members think it would be appropriate, have themask the elderly people how old they are.
| Encourage group members to develop their own questions andexplain that it is better to plan their questions in ways that do not suggest tothe people they are interviewing that some answers are better than others.Explain that this is because it is important to learn from what our elders haveto say, so in this activity there are no "right" or "wrong" answers, justinteresting ones. |
Process
6. Have your group members divide into pairs and give them 10minutes to practice a 5 minute Role Play of a young person interviewing anelderly person.
7. After each Role Play has been presented, ask everyone todescribe what went well in the interview and what could be improved.
Ask if they feel they want to do more Role Playing before theydo their actual interviews.
8. Explain that each pair of members will be asked to reporton his or her interview at the next group meeting.
Apply
After the interviews
9. At the next meeting, let each pair of group members workthrough their interview, one question at a time, and ask members to report whatthey learned from the elders.
10. To end this activity, ask the following questions tosummarise and apply what was learned:
What are the mainor most important things we learned from our interviews about food and nutritiontoday and in the past?
What did you learn aboutconducting interviews?
If you could do the interviewagain, what would you do the same? What would you do differently?
How does the current food andnutrition situation in Namibia compare with the situation in times past? What isthe same? What is different?
What do you think are thesereasons for these similarities and differences?
Overall, do you think thecurrent situation is better or worse than it was in the past?
Did you learn any ideas abouthow we could improve our current food and nutrition situation? What could wedo?
Would you like to use yourinterviewing skills to interview other people about certain topics? If so, whattopics? What types of people would you interview about each of those topics?What would you want to learn from these interviews?
Notes
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