NCFE Level 2 Award in Nutrition and Health
Unit 1
NCFE Level 2
Award in Nutrition and Health
Part A
1
These learning resources are endorsed by national Awarding
Organisation, NCFE. This means that NCFE has reviewed them and
agreed that they meet the necessary learning outcomes and assessment
criteria.
Disclaimer:
All references to individuals, groups and companies contained within these resources are
fictitious and do not relate to any person or company.
NCFE Level 2 Award in Nutrition and Health
Introduction
NUTRITION AND HEALTH
Welcome to NCFE’s Level 2 Award in Nutrition and Health.
We hope you find all of the information contained in this resource pack interesting and
informative. This learning resource and the assessment questions have been approved by
NCFE as a great way to meet the learning outcomes for this qualification. (A complete list of
the learning outcomes can be found on the last page of this resource.)
The course is made up of two parts. This is Part A which contains one unit. This unit is:
unit 1: Exploring the Principles of Healthy Eating As you start to read through each page you will be able to make notes and comments on
things you have learnt or may want to revisit at a later stage.
At the end of each section, you will be asked to go to your assessment booklet and answer the
relevant questions. Once you have answered the questions go to the next section and continue
studying until all of the assessments have been completed.
Please make sure that you set aside enough time to read each section carefully, making notes
and completing all of the activities. This will allow you to gain a better understanding of the
subject content and will help you to answer all of the assessment questions accurately.
Good luck with your study. Now let’s begin!
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NCFE Level 2 Award in Nutrition and Health
Unit 1
Unit 1: Explore the Principles of Healthy Eating
Welcome to unit one.
This unit is split into five sections. These sections are:
Section 1: Diet and Health
Section 2: Components of a Healthy Diet
Section 3: Nutrients and their Role in Maintaining Health
Section 4: Healthy Food Preparation
Section 5: Food Safety Awareness
Section 1: Diet and Health
In this section you will learn about:
•
The meaning of ‘healthy diet’
•
Lifestyle diseases associated with an unhealthy diet
•
Energy and its sources
•
Obesity
•
Salt
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Unit 1
The meaning of ‘healthy diet’
The word ‘diet’ is defined as meaning:
‘The food which a person consumes or ingests.’
In order for the human body to stay healthy, it requires certain foods and fluids. We must also
ensure that our consumption of food and fluid is of the correct type and amount.
Therefore, a ‘healthy diet’ can be described as:
‘A diet that provides us with the correct type and correct amount of
nutrients needed for good health’.
A balanced diet is essential for good health.
There are certain building blocks for a healthy balanced diet, which include:
•
Carbohydrates
•
Fats
•
Proteins
•
Vitamins
•
Minerals
•
Fibre
•
Water.
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Unit 1
Food type
How does it help?
Where do we get it?
Carbohydrates
Provides a quick energy
release.
Pasta, cereals and potatoes.
Fats
Provides a slow energy release.
Oils, dairy products, nuts
and fish.
Proteins
Builds and repairs muscle. We
only need 15% of our diet to be
protein.
Meat, pulses and fish.
Vitamins
(A, B, C, D and E)
Helps the body work.
Helps concentration.
Fresh fruit and vegetables.
Minerals
(Calcium, Iron, Iodine)
Helps release energy from food.
Helps decision making.
Fruit, vegetables and fish.
Fibre
Fills you up and aids digestion.
Fresh fruit, vegetables and
wholegrain cereals.
Water
Maintains fluid levels.
Water sources such as taps,
bottled etc.
In our diet we need to make sure that the foods we eat are made up of, and contain, the
correct amounts of nutrients, vitamins, minerals and fibres. A healthy diet also contains certain
fats and acids.
An adult’s healthy diet is one which provides and ensures that they can stay fit and healthy. A
child’s healthy diet is one which provides and ensures they can stay fit, healthy and can grow
and develop properly.
Children need more fat than adults, not only so they can grow and develop, but because
children burn fat at a faster pace than adults. Children need as much calcium as young adults
so that their teeth and bones can develop and grow strong.
Both adults and children should be consuming diets full of lean meats and fruit and
vegetables.
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Unit 1
Lifestyle diseases associated with an unhealthy diet
Healthy eating advice aims to lower the risks of developing ‘lifestyle diseases’. Lifestyle
diseases can be encouraged to develop through poor eating habits and the incorrect
consumption of foods, over a period of time.
The following are lifestyle diseases which could be related to an unhealthy diet:
•
eart Disease
H
Heart disease happens when the blood vessels that supply the heart with nutrient
and oxygen rich blood becomes clogged. This can cause pains in the chest (angina)
and heart attacks.
•
troke
S
A stroke happens when the blood flow to the brain is interrupted. The effects on the
body depend upon which part of the brain has been affected. For example, a stroke
could affect a person’s speech, movement, memory etc.
•
T ype 2 Diabetes
Type 2 Diabetes happens when not enough insulin is released into the body, or the
body cannot use the insulin that is released. Insulin acts like a key that unlocks the
cells of the body to let the nutrients in. When it is not present, or the body cannot
use it, it causes the nutrients to stay in the blood which results in high blood sugars
•
besity
O
Obesity describes an increase in the storage of fat that could seriously affect health.
Obesity increases the risk of developing, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood
pressure and osteoarthritis
A healthy diet can greatly reduce the chances of the development of these diseases.
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Key Fact
By informing people about healthy eating choices we can encourage
changes in eating habits to help increase the chances of a long, active and
healthy life.
STOP AND THINK!
What did you eat and drink yesterday? Is your diet healthy or
unhealthy? What could you change?
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NCFE Level 2 Award in Nutrition and Health
Unit 1
Energy and its sources
How much energy you need depends on your body type and the amount of physical activity you
do. How you use or store energy influences your weight, shape and performance.
Energy is sourced from the three main nutrients found in the food we eat, these are:
•
Carbohydrates
•
Fats
•
Proteins.
When people wish to lose weight quickly, they can become tired and they lack energy through
crash dieting, which involves a sudden and dramatic decrease of food. This usually involves
reducing one or more of the essential nutrients listed above which help to supply our body with
energy.
The body can cope with emergencies such as a sudden reduction or stoppage of food, but
only for a limited period of time. When this occurs, the body uses its fat stores, and in extreme
cases its muscle stores, in order to produce the energy it needs.
Kilocalories (kcal)
We can measure the energy we gain from food in kilocalories (kcal), more commonly known
as calories. This is the most common way of identifying energy from food. (A kilojoule (kJ) is
another way of measuring the energy provided by food but this is not as common).
Quite often when managing weight, we will consider how many calories the food provides by
looking at the food label on the product. Food labels are studied more closely in Unit 3 of this
course.
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Unit 1
The following points show how many calories are included in 1 gram of fat, 1 gram of
carbohydrate and 1 gram of protein.
•
1 gram of fat supplies the body with 9 kcal
•
1 gram of carbohydrate supplies the body with 4 kcal
•
1 gram of protein supplies the body with 4 kcal
C
Case Study: Samantha’s sandwich
Samantha eats a sandwich for her lunch. The sandwich contains:
• 3 grams of fat
• 2 grams of carbohydrate
• 1 gram of protein.
A
Activity 1: How many kilocalories?
How much energy in kilocalories will the sandwich provide Samantha with?
30 grams of fat = 20 grams of carbohydrate =
kcal
10 gram of protein =
kcal
kcal
Total energy =kcal
i
Key Fact
Fat provides more energy than carbohydrates or proteins. However,
carbohydrates and proteins provide the same amount of energy per gram.
You should have found that Samantha’s sandwich would provide her with:
•
270 kcals from the fat
•
80 kcals from the carbohydrate
•
40 kcals from the protein
A total of 390 kcals.
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Unit 1
STOP AND THINK!
Think of your favourite sandwich. Take each component and find
out how much fat, carbohydrate and protein there is in each part.
Then find out the total number of calories for the whole sandwich.
Could you swap any of the ingredients for healthier alternatives?
Energy requirements
An understanding of the energy we require on a daily basis can help us manage our weight.
We need enough energy to meet the demands of our Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and our
Physical Activity Levels (PAL).
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of energy used while we are at rest, to keep our
vital functions going.
BMR makes up around 60-75% of our total energy expenditure.
Physical Activity Levels (PAL)
Physical Activity Levels (PAL) represents the number of calories needed to fuel every physical
activity of ours. This component of energy expenditure is the most changeable.
Physical activity makes up around 15-30% of our total energy expenditure.
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Unit 1
Key Fact
Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and your Physical Activity Levels (PAL)
make up your daily energy requirement.
The following table provides an average of how much energy different types of people need
each day. It is important to remember that these statistics are averages and that each
individual will require a different amount of calories to complete their daily tasks.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Individual
Male (kcal required daily)
8 year old (child)
2000
Female (kcal required
daily)
1800
15 year old (teenager)
2500
2200
Adult office worker
2500
2000
Adult labourer
3400
2500
Retired person
1950
1700
Physical Activity Levels (PAL)*
This table shows the amount of energy in kcals that people of different weights need to
complete a certain activity for an hour. For example, a person who weighs 140lbs would need
400 kcals to play tennis for one hour.
Aerobics (high intensity)
120lbs
440
140lbs
500
160lbs
580
180lbs
660
Badminton (leisure)
250
290
330
370
Cycling (moderate intensity)
330
380
440
500
Gardening (general)
220
250
290
330
Golf
280
320
370
420
Housework (moderate tasks)
190
220
250
280
Jogging (moderate intensity)
560
650
750
840
Resistance training (moderate)
160
190
220
250
Squash
550
660
770
880
Swimming (moderate pace)
480
540
620
700
Tennis
360
400
460
520
Walking
380
440
500
580
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NCFE Level 2 Award in Nutrition and Health
Unit 1
BMR + PAL = DAILY ENERGY REQUIREMENT
C
Case Study: Sameena
Sameena is a secretary for a pharmaceutical company.
After work she drives to the gym and takes part in a one hour aerobics class.
A
Activity 2: Working it out
Use the Case Study above and the tables on the page 9 to work out an
estimate of Sameena’s energy requirements for the day:
Sameena’s BMR (kcal):
Sameena’s PAL (kcal):
Sameena’s daily energy requirement (kcal):
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NCFE Level 2 Award in Nutrition and Health
A
Unit 1
Activity 3: Daily energy requirements.
Can you use the equation on the previous page along with the information
in the tables on page 9, to find out an estimate of your own daily energy
requirements?
Your BMR (kcal):
Your PAL (kcal):
Your daily energy requirement (kcal):
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Unit 1
STOP AND THINK!
Think of every physical activity you do throughout the day. How
much energy do you think you use? Is it more or less than you
thought you used?
Make notes in the space below about the activities you do and the
energy you require to do them.
Factors affecting energy requirements
The amount of energy a person requires can be very different from the energy requirements of
another person.
The amount of energy needed is dependent upon three factors. These are:
1. Age
2. Gender
3. Level of activity (physical activity and / or level of exercise).
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Energy balance
Energy balance describes energy intake in relation to energy expenditure.
Energy Balance
Energy Intake
(Food and drink)
=
Energy Expenditure
(BMR, Activity)
If energy intake is equal to energy expenditure, this
describes a neutral energy balance which means
body weight will remain the same.
If energy intake is greater than energy expenditure, this
describes a positive energy balance which means weight
gain will occur.
If energy intake is less than energy expenditure, this
describes a negative energy balance which means weight
loss will occur.
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Unit 1
Obesity
Obesity occurs when a person has put on weight to the point that it could seriously endanger
their health. The problems associated with obesity are due to an excess quantity of fat stored
within the body.
Obesity increases the risk of developing:
•
Heart disease
•
Type 2 diabetes
•
High blood pressure
•
Osteoarthritis
There is a link between obesity and death. It can shorten life expectancy on average by nine
years.
What happens when we eat too much?
We know that if we take in too much energy,
our body weight increases. The body stores the
excess energy as fat. This is the body planning
ahead in case these reserves are required in
the future, due to starvation or the restriction of
food.
Weight loss occurs when the amount of energy
consumed is less than the energy expenditure
required by the muscles in the body. The body
uses the reserves of fat to provide energy reducing the amount of fat in the body and
therefore reducing our weight.
In the UK today, obesity is a recognised problem
in children and in adults. The government and
health authorities are challenging this issue
through raising the awareness of health related
issues and healthy eating advice.
STOP AND THINK!
Are there any changes to your own or your family’s diet that you
could make in order to raise your awareness of the problem of
obesity?
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NCFE Level 2 Award in Nutrition and Health
Unit 1
Obesity statistics*
In the UK today, obesity is on the rise. The government and health authorities are challenging
this fact through raising the awareness of health related issues and healthy eating advice.
In the UK today:
•
62.8% of adults (aged 16 or over) are overweight or
obese
•
30.3% of children (aged 2-15) are overweight or
obese
•
26.1% of all adults and 16% of all children are
obese.
These statistics highlight the problem of obesity in the UK.
Furthermore, compared with a man of healthy weight, a man who suffers from obesity is:
•
Five times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes
•
Three times more likely to develop cancer of the colon
•
More than two and a half times more likely to develop high blood pressure – which
is a major risk factor of stroke and heart disease.
Similarly, a woman who suffers from obesity, compared to a woman who maintains a healthy
weight is:
•
Almost 13 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes
•
More than four times more likely to develop high blood pressure
•
More than three times more likely to have a heart attack.
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Key Fact
Obesity and obesity related diseases are estimated to cost the NHS £50
billion per year by the year 2050.
* Statistics taken from: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/04/obesityfacts/
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