Taylor Jones is a 15-year-old high school freshman. He considers himself a typical kid who doesn’t really like school, earns mostly C’s and plays video games with his friends for 3 to 4 hours each day. Taylor’s least favorite class is PE. Physical activity is just too much for him and he is teased about his lack of sports ability. Last week the teacher had the class complete a mile on the track and it took him over 20 minutes. Finishing dead last, he was exhausted and humiliated.

Taylor relies on his mom to make food choices for him. His mom, Crystal, is constantly on the go caring for her family of six. Because of this, she doesn’t have time to research or prepare healthy food. Plus, feeding a family of six is expensive and fast food seems more cost and time effective.

Taylor is running late today. Stewart, Taylor’s dad, drives him to school and on the way they go through a fast-food drive-thru to grab a quick breakfast. Lunch in the cafeteria consists of fried food, followed by dessert. By 2:30 p.m., Taylor is unable to concentrate and feels tired because he is suffering from a sugar crash, so he stops by the vending machine. After school, while playing video games with his friends, he snacks on potato chips and more soda. His Mom comes home from work at 7:00 p.m. with dinner from a burger joint. Before heading off to bed, Taylor makes himself an ice cream sundae for dessert.

1. Internet Research: Based on his age, gender, height, weight and activity level, how many calories should Taylor consume per day? Use the Interactive Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for Healthcare Professionals calculator to determine your answer.
   
   Making it Personal: Based on your personal information, what is your daily calorie recommendation?



2. Internet Research: How much daily physical activity is recommended for an individual Taylor’s age?
   
   Making it Personal: Based on your personal information, what is your daily physical activity recommendation?



3. Internet Research: What impact could his diet have on his health?


4. Review Taylor’s story: Nutrition is an important aspect of health. Looking at Taylor’s Food Diary, what are some changes or modifications you would make in his food choices so Taylor’s diet is healthier?

Practice: Each team member needs to ‘make a copy’ of this Nutrition spreadsheet. Look over Taylor’s Food Diary and select healthier food item choices and serving sizes that fall within the Recommended Daily Allowance ranges. People ‘eat with their eyes first’, meaning food should look appetizing. When creating meals for Taylor, visually picture those meals, making sure they are meals a person would actually eat.



5. Reflection: When looking at creating a healthy meal in the Nutrition spreadsheet, what two categories were hardest to get in the “green” range and why?


6. Make it Personal: In general, what are two challenges teens face when trying to make healthy food choices?

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