Motivating Introduction
1. Ask the students what fast-food they eat for meals. 2. Ask what junk food they eat for snacks.
Objectives
1. To make the students aware of addiction as the effect of eating fast-food. 2. To make them interested in counting the calories in the fast-food and junk
food they eat.
Lesson Proper 1. Vocabulary
Discuss (or assign for research) the following words:
1. obesity [ow-BIY-si-tiy], noun 2. obese [ow-BIYS], adjective
From online Merriam-Webster:
Synonyms: adiposity, chubbiness, corpulence, embonpoint, fat, fatness, fattiness, fleshiness, grossness, corpulence, plumpness, portliness, pudginess, pursiness, rotundity, weight
Antonyms: leanness, reediness, slenderness, slimness, svelteness, thinness
3. calorie
A unit of heat energy
Comes from Latin calor, meaning “heat” First used in 1824 by Nicolas Clement
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Compare:
small or gram calorie (cal) -- the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of
1 gram of water by
1 degree Celsius at a pressure of 1 atmosphere
Vs
large or kilogram calorie (Cal) -- known as the food calorie or the unit of food energy 1 Cal = 1,000 cal
calorie = metric system of units joule = international system of units
1 cal = 4.2 joules 1 kcal = 4.2 kilojoules
Modified from online Merriam-Webster:
4. opiate [OW-piy-et/ –eyt]
A drug, e.g., morphine or codeine, made from the opium poppy, used to reduce pain, cause sleep, or ignore problems and relax instead of doing things needed to be done
From Greek opion, diminutive of opos, “sap” (first used 14th century)
Synonyms: drowsy, narcotic, hypnotic, sleepy, slumberous (or slumbrous), somniferous, somnolent, soporific; anesthetic, anodyne, narcotic
Antonym: stimulant vs. opioids [OW-piy-oyds]
5. endogenous (inside the organism) neural polypeptides that bind to receptors and mimic opiates; also called opioid peptide
A synthetic drug possessing narcotic properties similar to opiates but not derived from opium
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2. Comprehension Questions
1. Ask them the main issue in the introductory paragraph. (Hamburgers, fries, and cola/soda/soft drinks are so addicting that they keep customers coming back.)
2. In the next paragraph, ask what the culprits are.(sugar and fat as the caloric content)
3. Ask how many calories there are in a serving of burger and also how many calories a day is required of the average woman. (2,000 calories for each question)
4. Call a student to come to the board and draw a diagram, based on paragraph 3 and helped by the entire class, showing the path, from sugar and fats in the body to addiction. (Sugar and fat --->Endogenous (internal) opioids (e.g., natural painkilling beta-endorphins) in the hypothalamus the brain stem --->Release of dopamine (a neurotransmitter) into cells in the midbrain (nucleus acumens) --->Dopamine eliciting feelings of pleasure (euphoria) --->Repetition of the action because the body craves the release of dopamine inherent in the consumption of sugar and fat)
5. Ask the students two scientific proofs, based on paragraph 4, that sugar and fat behave like drugs causing addiction. When sugar and fat were withdrawn from the former sweet diet of rats, the rats exhibited anxiety similar to withdrawal symptoms from heroin and nicotine. Chocolate drink with increasing sugar and fat were given to rats. When a high dose of the same drink was given, the rats showed tolerance to the effects of sugar and fat, as seen in the diminished release of opioids/ opiates. Subsequently, they would require a higher dose to achieve the earlier effect of euphoria.)
6. Ask how the author concludes the report.(Applied to humans, brain scans show that the more obese one is, the fewer the dopamine receptors, suggesting that more sugar and fat are needed to experience euphoria.) 7. Ask if there is any caution suggested in the conclusion. (The researchers
caution against concluding whether dopamine receptors are the cause/ “basis,” or rather the effect/ “outcome,” of obesity.)
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Concluding Activities
Contextualized Activities and Practice
a. Academic: Tell the students to convert calories into joules. Refer to the definition of calorie in the Vocabulary above. Let them write an article on how to reduce sugar and fat intake.
b. Art and Design: Draw a comic strip showing the effects of an excessive
fast-food diet.
c. Tech Voc: Prepare a substitute meal and snack for the usual fast-food items.
d. Sports: Interview school athletes on their diet when preparing for a game.
e. IT and IA: Identify the calories in a serving of meat, chicken, fish,
vegetables, fruits, street foods, and snacks. Then, prepare a Facebook account that shows the calories in a serving of each food above. Present the various foods visually and in ascending order of their caloric content.
Assessment Questions/Projects
Tell each student to interview or observe at least two people – one who has gained pounds, and another who has lost some. Then, let each one write two separate reports on the noted respective regimens. Let them include diets, exercises, and other practices.
Feedback (for activities)/ Assessment Results
Discuss the good and bad points of the students’ output. Show them some of the more interesting works submitted.
Reminder
Parts of the report on fast-food addiction
1. Statement of the Problem: Fast-food addiction leading to obesity 2. Cause of the Problem: Sugar and fat in fast-food causing addiction
3. Analysis of the Cause: Step by step description of how sugar and fat affect the brain and lead to addiction
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4. Proof (of the cause-effect relationship): Laboratory experiments on rats given a sugar and fat diet of chocolate drink
5. Application of the research: Sugar and fat addiction in rats being similar to fast-food addiction in humans, leading to weight gain
Summary
Obesity is caused by fast-food addiction.
A sugar and fat diet in fast-food leads to fast-food addiction.
Endogenous opioids in the hypothalamus (above the brain stem) activate the release of dopamine into the midbrain.
Dopamine elicits feelings of pleasure (euphoria).
Furthermore, dopamine motivates a repetition of the addictive behavior to sugar and fat.