Capture the Sugar

Introduction

Q: Did you know that 1 can of soda can have as many as 10 teaspoons of sugar in it?
A: Nutrition experts recommend that kids limit their added sugar to 6 teaspoons or less per day. A can of soda has more added sugar than your body needs in a day! And, by the way, that's more (in the soda) than the amount of sugar in 2 scoops of ice cream! 

Here are some things to know about how recharge and food are connected:

• When your energy is low it can be difficult to make nutritious food choices. 
• Foods high in sugar, like candy and soda...or any red-light food, do not pack the nutritional power that green-light foods do. If you really are hungry, choose a green-light food.
• There are many ways to recharge, and drinking an energy drink is not one of them! Energy drinks can be high in sugar and do not provide long-lasting energy that you can get from making fit choices. Better choices include water, water flavored with real fruit, or milk.

This activity will help you learn about what foods give you the best fuel for your day. The activity is similar to “capture the flag” except you are capturing Food Activity Cards. 

Activity Instructions

1. Divide the kids into 2 teams and provide a way for the 2 teams to be easily identified such as mesh vests. Each team will start on opposite ends of the activity space, (see activity diagram).
2. Place Food Activity Cards in the center of the space.
3. Set a timer for 5-6 minutes.
4. Shout, “Go!”
5. Kids begin to run to the center of the activity space to capture the cards, 1 at a time.
6. When all the cards have been captured from the center of the space, shout, “Stop!”
7. Each team will go back to their starting positions and shout, “Capture the Food!”
8. Kids now begin to run into the other team’s territory and attempt to steal the other team’s cards.
   • If a kid is tagged in the other team’s territory, they go to Recharge Island.
     • If the kid is also holding a card when tagged, the card stays in that territory.
     • Participant can leave Recharge Island by telling the fitClub leader a healthy way to recharge during the day.
9. Repeat activity. Compare the number of green-light Food Activity Cards each team gets to see if they improved their score from the first round.

Reflections

Q: I decided to drink an energy drink because I felt tired and wanted to recharge. Am I making a healthy choice? Show a thumbs up for yes, and a thumbs down for no.
A: Thumbs down! Drinking an energy drink, or eating anything with a lot of sugar (red-light foods), will not recharge your energy. If you are thirsty, drink some water. If you really are hungry, choose a green-light food, then do a recharge activity.

Challenge

Being thirsty is your body's way of asking for water. Track how many times you feel thirsty in a day and how many ounces of water you drink.