Word processing software Three cereal boxes (optional) Taking charge of our own health status starts with small things. One small thing is taking the time to read and analyze nutrition facts labels. We don’t want to just mindlessly eat food because it pairs well with watching a movie or just because it tastes good. To live healthy lives, we need to put thought into our choices. In this activity, you will put some thought into a choice you probably make every day. You’ll learn how to use the nutritional information provided so that you can be sure to make an informed choice. Step 1: Gather Items to Compare Do you eat cereal? What is your favorite kind? Even though you might not eat it every morning, chances are you have had cereal before. In fact, you may have some in your kitchen right now. To begin your investigation, take a look to see if you have three different types to compare. Don’t worry if you don’t have three on hand. You can also look online for the information you need. Usually, the manufacturers of cereal have information pages dedicated to each of their products, so pick three cereals you’ve heard of and look on their sites to find your info. Open a word processing document. List your three chosen cereals at the top. Step 2: Look Carefully at the Message Take a few minutes to look over the boxes themselves. What do you note about the graphics and colors used? Are they an attempt to draw any specific consumer? Are there any claims made about the cereal, such as ‘heart healthy,’ ‘whole grains,’ or ‘less sugar’? Under the title of each cereal on your document, make a few brief notes evaluating what you’ve found. Step 3: Find and Record the Stats On your cereal box, find the nutrition facts label. If you are researching online, the manufacturer should also provide this chart. (This is usually called Smartlabel.) Create a chart of your own in your word processing document. Your chart needs to have four columns. You will need at least 20 rows on your chart, depending on how much nutritional information is available.

List your three cereals, one for each column. Down the side, note the serving size, calories, calories, total fat, cholesterol, etc. that are listed. Then, fill in your chart with the information from each box.

This should create a good visual for you to compare your cereals.

Step 4: Analyze the Info
Once all of your nutritional facts are recorded, take a moment to compare the three. Are they the same in some areas? Where do they differ? Rank them in terms of nutritional quality.

Next, it’s time to compare the facts with the percent of daily value. Does the cereal give you a good amount of fiber or protein? Or does the cereal contain more salt or sugar than you need? You can use different highlight colors to point out areas of concern. For example, if a cereal contained 200mcg of folic acid and that is already 50 percent of your recommended daily value, that’s good, right? You need folic acid and this takes care of half for the day. So highlight that in green. If there is something like 12g of added sugar that takes up 24 percent of your daily value, that would be a lot, wouldn’t it? Highlight that in red.

Now it’s time to think back to those claims you made above your chart. Looking at the nutritional facts, is there something to back up the claim made—is this a truly ‘high fiber’ cereal, compared to the others? Is it really ‘protein packed’ and does it contain ‘whole grains’? Insert a note beside the claim explaining the results of your research.

Finally, look closely at all three cereals. Write a paragraph at the bottom of your document explaining which one of the three cereals you believe would be the healthiest choice for breakfast. Include at least two facts to support your answer, as well as at least two contrasts to the cereals you did not choose.