Biology 1001 Name___________________________________________

Lab #3: Macromolecules and Nutrition – Make Good Choices!

Materials:
Lab report packet
Folder with relevant handouts: BMI chart, calories burned with various activities, calories
needed, etc.
Food labels

Objectives:
1. To introduce three types of macromolecules (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) and their functions
2. To become familiar with calories: calorie needs, counting calories, “empty” calories, ways to reduce
calories through diet and activity
3. To determine one’s Body Mass Index (BMI)
4. To analyze and interpret food labels, and discriminate between healthy/less healthy food items
5. To convert grams of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats to calories
6. To convert grams of sugar to teaspoons
7. To describe the link between diet and personal health (obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure,
etc.)
8. To understand unhealthy food choices and suggest healthy alternatives

Introduction:
You’ve probably heard the saying “You are what you eat.” Today, you will learn about three types of
macromolecules found in food (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats), their functions in the body, and their
effect on human health. The link between diet and health is well-documented. In this lab, you will
become familiar with ways to interpret food labels, calculate calories, and make healthy food choices, to
maximize health. In the United States, obesity rates have increased in the last few decades, and,
alarmingly, childhood obesity is on the rise, as well. Alabama ranks among the most obese states, which
correlates with high rates of disease, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, etc.,
along with exploding medical costs, lost wages from missed work, decreased quality of life, and a
shortened life span. However, these conditions are largely preventable, through proper diet and activity.
It is important for young people to learn about nutrition so that they will make good choices and
maintain healthy habits, throughout their lifetime.

Procedures:

I. Warm-Up
Your instructor will show a video entitled “Children’s Health Crisis: Obesity” about how grocery stores
trick us. Listen carefully while watching the video, then answer the associated questions. The video is
found at the link below,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R7cCIg8iDQ
1. How does the placement of food products in the grocery store and packaging design appeal to
children? Explain.
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2. What would be a healthier, less expensive choice for yogurt than the “Scooby-Doo” type yogurt?
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3. How does the placement of items such as bread and milk affect your shopping? Explain.
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4. What types of products are in the center of the store?

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5. What are some of the problems with packaged, processed foods?

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6. What happens to the food content when sugar, sodium (salt), or fat are reduced?
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7. What is the nutritional problem with soda drinks?

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8. Where in the grocery store is the healthiest, freshest food located?

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II. Lab Activity
Directions: Follow your instructor’s directions to work through this lab packet. Documents needed to
complete the lab items are located in the folder on your table.

A. What is a Calorie?
A calorie is a unit of energy. Calories are stored in the chemical bonds in the foods you eat and are
released through digestion.

Calories from food are used for the following purposes:

10% - Digestion
20% - Physical Activity
70% - Basic Functions (within your body cells)

• Different people have different energy (calorie) needs (it varies with age, activity level, etc.)
• It is important to keep track of calories consumed because calories that are not used by the
body are stored as fat.

1. The number of calories needed each day varies according to gender, age, and activity level. Use the
handout from the folder to determine your daily calorie needs. Use the following to estimate your
activity level:

Not active: spend much of the day sitting, movement includes mostly activities of daily living (dressing,
cooking, shopping, housework, working at computer), less than 30 minutes per day of exercise, no
moderate or vigorous activity. Most people fall into this category.

Somewhat active: spend at least 30 minutes, DAILY, engaging in physical activity, spend majority of day
on feet, moving.

Very active: walking more than an hour per day, EVERY DAY, jogging for an hour, heavy lifting.

My daily calorie needs = _______________________ calories. Note: if you want to lose

weight, consume 500 less calories per day; to gain, add 500 calories per day.

B. Body Mass Index (BMI)

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measurement of one’s weight-to-height ratio. It is used as a measurement
to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems (obesity, underweight). A BMI less
than 19 is considered to be underweight, while a BMI greater than 24
BMI less than 19 = underweight
BMI greater than 24 = overweight
BMI 30 or more = obese
BMI 40 or more = extreme obesity

1. Use the Body Mass Index Table in your folder to determine your BMI value (using your height, in
inches, and your body weight).

My Body Mass Index (BMI) = ___________________________, which falls into this category
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C. Not All Calories Are the Same
Ideally, the calories consumed with food bring with them necessary nutrients for the body (proteins,
carbohydrates, fats); however, some foods are high in calories but provide little, if any nutritional
benefit. Empty calories are calories that add to one’s daily caloric intake (and possible weight gain),
without the benefit of added nutrients. An effort should be made to AVOID foods with empty calories. In
recent years, the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) has established standards for foods sold in
schools, to reduce consumption of empty calories.

1. Use the “Smart Snacks in School” chart, found in your folder, to complete the items below:

Pick an item from the “Before” column.

Name of item: _______________________________________________
Number of empty calories: _____________________________________
Total number of calories:_______________________________________
% of calories that are “empty”:___________________________________
To calculate this take empty calories divided by total calories, then multiply that number by 100.

Pick a better choice form the “After” column.

Name of item: _______________________________________________
Number of empty calories: _____________________________________
Total number of calories:_______________________________________
% of calories that are “empty”:___________________________________
To calculate this take empty calories divided by total calories, then multiply that number by 100.

The energy (calorie) content of food nutrients depends on the type of macromolecule
involved. Fats are the most energy-rich source of food, by weight.
We will learn how to interpret the information provided by food labels, but first, we must
understand how to convert the grams of a nutrient into calories. This allows us to determine
what portion of a food’s total calories is made up of each nutrient.

Proteins and carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram.

Fats contain 9 calories per gram (fats contain more than twice as much energy, by weight, than
the other nutrient types. Let’s practice!

2. An item of food contains 20g of carbohydrates, 10 grams of fat, and 3 grams of protein.
Calculate the calories contributed by each nutrient in that food item.
Carbohydrates = _______________________ calories
Fat = _____________________ calories
Protein = ________________________ calories

A one ounce serving of almonds contains 160 calories. Of this amount, 120 calories (75%) come
from fat. Is this a healthy food? What do you think? Not all fats are the same. Let’s take a look
at the macromolecules found in your food.
D. There are three categories of macromolecules found in your food: proteins, carbohydrates,
and fats. Let’s look at each.

Proteins are important nutrients used for a variety of functions: growth and repair of body
tissue, especially muscle; used to transport materials into one’s cells; some are enzymes –
chemicals that speed up chemical reactions inside the body; some are receptors – they receive
chemical signals that tell your cells what to do.

Carbohydrates are important sources of energy for the body. Carbohydrates include simple
sugars that are used for short-term energy production, and starches, which are bigger
molecules that take longer to digest, supplying extended energy. Carbohydrates also include
fiber, which helps one to feel full and helps the digestive tract to function properly.

Fats are molecules that store energy in the body and provide insulation. There are different
types of fats, some good, some that are really unhealthy. When reading food labels and making
food choices, it is important to consider the types of fats contained in food. Saturated fats and
trans fats are unhealthy fats that have been linked to disease. An effort should be made to
limit/avoid these fats. On the other hand, unsaturated fats are healthy fats that should be part
of one’s diet. Fats help one to feel full, so they can reduce overeating.
E. Interpreting Food Labels

1. Look at the serving size. Is it realistic? If you eat more than one serving, you must multiply all items
on the label by the number of servings you actually consumed.
2. Notice the amount of total calories. This is important for the maintenance of a healthy weight.
3. Notice the nutrients:
• Eat more of these – fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron, potassium, protein, unsaturated fats.
• Eat less of these – added sugar, saturated/trans fat, sodium
4. Notice the % daily value (%DV). These are reference amounts of a nutrient to get/not exceed each
day.
• 5% DV for a nutrient per serving is considered low
• 20% DV for a nutrient per serving is considered high
• Pay attention to these values throughout your daily diet. For example, if you eat a food item
that is high in sodium %DV, limit sodium in the other meals consumed on that day. Try not to
exceed the %DV of added sugar, saturated fats, and sodium, while getting enough of the desired
nutrients (protein, etc.).
5. Look at the ingredients!
• Ingredients are listed in order, by weight, with the first item listed making up the largest
portion of that food.
• Pay attention to the first three ingredients – try to avoid items that contain unhealthy
ingredients within the first three ingredients (sugar, high fructose corn syrup, saturated fat/oil)
• Aim for few total ingredients and names of ingredients that you can recognize and pronounce.
Is it food or shampoo? How many artificial flavors, preservatives, artificial colors, or names of
chemicals that you cannot pronounce does your item of food contain?
6. Look for allergy information, especially if you have food allergies!
7. At the bottom of the label, notice the daily calorie total that these values are based upon. Often,
these values are based on a 2,000 daily calorie diet. The %DV of each item will vary with changes in your
daily calorie total.
F. Food Label Analysis
In your folder, you will find food labels for a Jack-in-the-Box Oreo Cookie Shake and a serving of
almonds.

Work with a partner, analyze the food labels for each food item. Compare the shake and the almonds.
Look at ALL of the food values.

Which is the healthier snack? Why?

State your claim, evidence, and reasoning below, in a coherent paragraph.

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G. Diet and Exercise

You blew your diet by consuming that Jack-in-the-Box Oreo Cookie Shake, which contained 760 total
calories.
Look at the handout in your folder that lists calories burned during 30 minutes of exercise. From the list,
pick some activities that you could do to “burn off” those 760 calories. Remember that the handout lists
calories burned during 30 minutes. For this task, you will have to identify the exercises you could do, and
the length of time it would take to eliminate 760 calories. For example, if you pick an exercise that burns
76 calories in 30 minutes, it would take ten times that amount (30 x 10 = 300 minutes, or 5 hours) to
burn off that milkshake.

Exercise Calories burned in 30 minutes Time needed to burn 760 calories

1. ________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________

3. How long would it take to burn off 760 calories by sitting, working at your computer?
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H. “Sugar is Killing Us”
Your teacher will play a video about sugar, found at the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yda8RtOcVFU

1. List some negative health effects associated with excess sugar consumption, as described in the video.
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2. As mentioned in the video, sugar has always been around. Why is sugar becoming such a problem?
What has changed? Explain.
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3. One 12 oz. can of Coca-Cola contains 39 grams of added sugars (78% DV of added sugar). One
teaspoon of sugar = 4 grams. If a can of Coke contains 39 grams of sugar, how many teaspoons of sugar
are in one can of Coke? Hint: divide # grams X 4
One can of Coke contains ______________________ teaspoons of sugar.

I. Obesity in Alabama
Follow the link below:
https://wallethub.com/edu/fattest-states/16585/

1. Where does Alabama rank in terms of the most obese states in America?
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III. Extension
For this assignment, go to the restaurant calorie counter, available at the link below:

https://www.nutritionix.com/consumer/nutrition-calculator

1. Pick a restaurant that you would likely visit. Use the website to create a food label for an entire meal
that you would actually order. Record the information from the entire-meal food label below, or print
and attach your food label. Interpret and analyze the nutritional value (or lack thereof) in your meal.
Next, redo your meal plan at that restaurant, selecting healthier items. Record or print that food label
and analyze that meal, as well.

Restaurant: ___________________________________________________________________________

First meal items:

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Analysis:
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Healthier Choice:

Second (healthier) meal items:

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Analysis:
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2. What change/s will you commit to doing this week to improve your diet and/or activity level?
Describe below.
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