Begin with the food pyramid. The food pyramid was developed by the United States Department of Agriculture as a teaching tool and guide for those learning about nutrition. The food pyramid consists of five food groups and explains the importance of each food group and the amount of servings of each food group that should be eaten per day for optimal health. Additionally, it is a useful visual aid for students who learn better with pictures and diagrams.
Explain the components of nutrition. For students to understand how to maintain a healthy diet, it is important to break nutrition down beyond the five food groups. What are calories? How about vitamins? Which fats are good and which fats are bad? Be sure to modify your explanations according to the age-range of your classes. Kindergartners will not understand how calories turn into energy in the same way that adult learners will.
Provide students with concrete examples. Nutrition can seem like an abstract concept until it is demonstrated in real world examples. For instance, students may understand that balancing proteins, carbohydrates, and fats is an important component of a healthy meal, but they may not understand what that means in practice. Giving concrete examples, i.e. a dinner with lean chicken, sauteed greens, and a whole grain roll, is the best way to turn what they are learning into applicable skills.
Incorporate hands on practice. The Internet provides a good deal of resources for teachers looking for handouts, worksheets, and exercises (see Resources) on nutrition. Using exercises, i.e. having students create healthy dishes with plastic foods, helps reinforce ideas being taught in the classroom.
Emphasize health and moderation over appearance. Both young students and adult students are bombarded with media messages regarding fad diets and quick fixes to weight loss. As an educator, it is possible to teach your students the truth about these paths to weight loss. Eating foods in moderation and maintaining an active lifestyle are more important to health than a person's weight.