1. Choose Wisely: For Health and Wealth
Presented by: Barbara Ames
Wildcat District Extension Agent, Family and Consumer Sciences
Choices…Choices…Choices. Everyone makes choices every day.
Some of those choices include deciding what to eat, how much to eat, and whether to include physical activity in your day.
The news is full of information — some of it conflicting — about nutrition and health. It can be confusing…
When all is said and done, do nutrition and health choices really make any significant difference?
Well, let’s consider this:

2. Did You Know?
Chronic disease, including obesity, is responsible for more than 70% of health care costs in Kansas?
Making healthy lifestyle choices can help protect against chronic diseases?
According to the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease: If Americans were to stop smoking, exercise regularly, and eat well, they could prevent up to 80% of heart disease and stroke, 80% of type 2 diabetes and 40% of cancers.
Think about those statements. What effect could this have on your health and your healthcare costs?
Research indicates a definite link between food and physical activity habits, and the quality of a person’s health.
So, yes, the choices you make are very important and can make a significant difference in quality of life. Since health is influenced by the choices you make each day, let’s examine tools you can use to make wise choices that can help improve health and potentially save money from reduced healthcare costs.

3. Tools We Can Use!
MyPlate

4. Key MyPlate Messages:
Everything you eat and drink matters – Focus on variety, amount, and nutrition.
Focus on making healthy food and beverage choices from all five food groups.
Eat the right amount of calories for you.
Building a healthier eating style can help you avoid overweight and obesity and reduce your risk of diseases.

5. Key MyPlate Messages:
Choose an eating style low in saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars.
Use Nutrition Facts labels and ingredient lists to find amounts of saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars in the foods and beverages you choose.

6. Key MyPlate Messages:
Look for food and drink choices that are lower in saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar.
Eating fewer calories from foods high in saturated fat and added sugars can help you manage your calories and prevent overweight.
Eating foods with less sodium can reduce your risk of high blood pressure.

7. Key MyPlate Messages:
Make small changes to create a healthier eating style.
Think of each change as a personal “win” on your path to living healthier and celebrate.
Start with a few small changes related to each of the MyPlate food groups.

8. Tools We Can Use!
Nutrition Facts
Label

9. Choose More Nutrition Per Calorie
Nutrient-dense foods offer more nutrition per calorie and help us feel full with lower calorie intake.
It’s like shopping for a bargain!!!
Using our tools, here is an Important Concept to Consider:
Another way to think about making our food choices is to think about nutrition per calorie…

10. Cut back on SOFAS! Limit foods high in sodium, fat, and added sugars.
Photo courtesy of National Cancer Institute
Cut back on SOFAS!
Limit foods high in sodium, fat, and added sugars.

11. Eat more nutrient- dense foods
Photo courtesy of National Cancer Institute
Eat more nutrient- dense foods
NOTE: This slide is for illustration purposes only. In real life, raw meat would not be placed next to foods that would be eaten uncooked. 11

12. Let’s Examine Some Comparisons!
To help us get a better visual of nutrient density and the concepts we are talking about, let’s take some time to review some comparisons!
Page 3 of fact sheet.

13. Sample Breakfast Choice 1 Sample Breakfast Choice 2
Food Calories Fat Carb
Grams Grams
Food Calories Fat Carb
Grams Grams
1 Glazed Doughnut
1 cup Whole Milk
1 1/4 cups Whole
Grain Oat Cereal
1 cup 1% Milk
1 cup Strawberries
Totals:
Totals:

14. Comparison of Nutrition Per Calorie
Choice 1
Choice 2
Food Calories Fat Carbs
(grams) (grams)
Food Calories Fat Carbs
(grams) (grams)
A piece of pecan pie
(1/8 of 9” pie)
3 ounces turkey
1/2 cup mashed
potatoes
1/4 cup brown gravy
1/2 cup green beans
1 cup leaf lettuce
2 Tbsp low-calorie
Italian dressing
1 slice whole wheat
bread
1/2 cup sliced peaches
Totals:
Totals:

15. Comparison of Vanilla Ice Cream Products
Food
Calories per 1/2 cup
Fat
Grams
Total Carb Grams
Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream
250 17 21
Haagen-Dazs Light Ice Cream
125 4 20
Haagen-Dazs Frozen Yogurt
107
1.5
19.5
Braums Premium Ice Cream
130 7 16
Braums Light Ice Cream
110 3 18
Braums Frozen Yogurt
120

16. Tools We Can Use: Physical Activity!
Maintain a healthy weight
Live longer
Feel better about yourself
Sleep better
Decrease chance of becoming depressed
Meet new friends
Stronger bones and muscles
Less likely to develop chronic diseases
Heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, stroke

17. Physical Activity – Make It Fun!
Choose activities you like to do.
Aerobic
Muscle-strengthening
Bone-strengthening
Balance and stretching
Start by doing what you can, at least 10 minutes at a time.
Recommendation for adults: 30 minutes
of moderate to vigorous activity most days.

18. What Choices Will You Make Today?
True healthcare decisions are made wherever we make our food, physical activity, and other lifestyle choices.
Choose Wisely…
For Health and Wealth!

19. What Questions Do You Have?
Please Complete the Survey.