Nutrisize Health Handbook, K-12 teacher edition

Move, eat, think: classroom background for teachers

Sourced facts from WHO, the FDA, UNICEF and the CDC, framed for school health and physical education, with activities and discussion questions. Written for teachers and school health staff, free to use and share.

For: K-12 teachers, school health and physical education staff

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In this edition:
A framing for health lessonsMovement: sixty minutes a dayFood: what the guidance says, and how to read a labelThinking: asking who says so

Before you teach

A framing for health lessons

These pages are written for teachers and school health staff. They are classroom background, not content for marketing to students.

Suggested ground rules: Talk about energy, movement, sleep and variety, not weight, size or dieting. Avoid labelling foods good or bad. Do not set calorie or weight targets for young people. If a student seems worried about food or their body, involve the school nurse, counsellor and family rather than handling it in the lesson.

Every number below comes from a named public-health source, shown with each item, so students can practise asking "who says so, and how do they know?"

Move

Movement: sixty minutes a day

Sixty minutes a day: the movement guideline for young people

WHO recommends that children and adolescents average about 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity, mostly aerobic, across the week. WHO also reports that about 80% of adolescents worldwide do not reach recommended levels, so many young people are in the same position.

In the classroom: Ask students to list ways to be active that are not sport: walking to school, helping at home, playing outside, dance. Add up minutes together as a class. Keep the focus on enjoyment and on how many different ways count.
Discussion: Discuss: why might many young people not get 60 minutes? What could a school do to make movement easier?

Source: Bull FC, Al-Ansari SS, Biddle S, et al. World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Br J Sports Med 2020;54:1451-1462. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2020-102955; Physical activity fact sheet, WHO, 26 June 2024. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity

What this does not show: Guidelines are targets averaged over a week, and benefits also appear below them. The 80% figure is a global estimate from surveys.

Food

Food: what the guidance says, and how to read a label

Fruit and vegetables by age: WHO's yardsticks

WHO suggests at least 250 g of fruit and vegetables a day for ages 2 to 5, at least 350 g for ages 6 to 9, and at least 400 g for ages over 10. For fibre, at least 15 g a day for ages 2 to 5, 21 g for ages 6 to 9 and 25 g for ages over 10.

AgeFruit and vegetables (g/day)Fibre (g/day)
2 to 5at least 250at least 15
6 to 9at least 350at least 21
Over 10at least 400at least 25
In the classroom: A class tally: which fruits and vegetables do students know and enjoy? Build a colourful class chart of what is eaten across cultures and seasons. Avoid judging what families eat.

Source: Healthy diet fact sheet, WHO, 26 January 2026. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet

What this does not show: Population guidance for a healthy diet, not a personal target for any child.
A free classroom reference: For lesson planning, teachers can browse nutrition information for foods on the free pages at nutrisize.health, with no account needed.

Reading a Nutrition Facts label: a scavenger hunt for upper grades

On a label, % Daily Value shows how a serving fits into a day for a 2,000-calorie reference diet. The FDA's quick rule: 5% Daily Value or less is low; 20% or more is high. The added sugars Daily Value is 50 g a day.

Activity: Give small groups two food labels. Ask them to find the serving size, then the % Daily Value for added sugars, sodium and fibre, and to explain what the % means in plain words. Encourage curiosity, not judgement about foods or families.

Source: Added Sugars on the Nutrition Facts Label, FDA (content current March 2026). https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/added-sugars-nutrition-facts-label; Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, FDA. https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/daily-value-nutrition-and-supplement-facts-labels

What this does not show: Daily Values are label references for adults on a 2,000-calorie diet, not a rule for any one person.

A global lens: what children eat around the world (older students)

UNICEF reports that about 181 million children under 5, one in four, live in severe child food poverty, meaning they eat at most two of eight defined food groups. Fewer than 10% of these children are fed fruits and vegetables.

Discussion: For secondary classes, with care and teacher discretion: use the list of eight food groups to talk about access, cost and fairness. Ask: what might help? Who can help?

Source: Child Food Poverty: Nutrition Deprivation in Early Childhood, UNICEF, June 2024. https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/1-4-children-globally-live-severe-child-food-poverty-due-inequity-conflict-and

What this does not show: A global estimate for children under 5, not a description of any local community. Handle with sensitivity.

Where calories come from: a look at data (upper secondary)

In 2021 to 2023, ultra-processed foods supplied 61.9% of calories for US children and adolescents aged 1 to 18, and 53.0% for adults. This is a share of calories reported in a one-day recall.

Discussion: Use this to practise reading data, not to judge foods or families: what is a 'share'? How might one day of recall differ from a typical week?

Source: Williams AM, Couch CA, Emmerich SD, Ogburn DF. Ultra-processed Food Consumption in Youth and Adults: United States, August 2021-August 2023. NCHS Data Brief No. 536, 2025. https://cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db536.htm

What this does not show: A share of calories is not a measure of harm. Do not use this to label foods or students.

Evidence literacy

Thinking: asking who says so

Who says so? Teaching students to trace a claim

Every finding in this handbook shows its source and what it does not show. A simple routine for any health claim: (1) Who said it? (2) What kind of evidence is it: a survey, a trial, an official guideline? (3) What is the number, and for whom? (4) What would we need to know before changing what we do?

Activity: Pick a claim from social media or a news headline. In groups, trace it back to a source. Compare it with one of the sourced facts in this handbook, and discuss what each one does and does not tell us.

Source: Physical activity fact sheet, WHO, 26 June 2024. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity; Williams AM, Couch CA, Emmerich SD, Ogburn DF. Ultra-processed Food Consumption in Youth and Adults: United States, August 2021-August 2023. NCHS Data Brief No. 536, 2025. https://cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db536.htm

What this does not show: A routine for discussion, not a verdict on any source.

Free classroom references

Nutrisize Health is a free nutrition and exercise reference from EqualInformation, LLC. For classroom use, the pages on nutrisize.health are open to everyone, with no account. The mobile apps are designed for adults and are not part of these classroom materials.

  • Free food and nutrient reference pages
  • Exercise pages with how-to and common mistakes, useful for physical education planning
  • A digestion tool and other reference pages that can support health lessons

Free to use, with optional Remove Ads and premium packs. Your health data stays on your device.

Sources

  1. Bull FC, Al-Ansari SS, Biddle S, et al. World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Br J Sports Med 2020;54:1451-1462. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2020-102955
  2. Physical activity fact sheet, WHO, 26 June 2024. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity
  3. Healthy diet fact sheet, WHO, 26 January 2026. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet
  4. Added Sugars on the Nutrition Facts Label, FDA (content current March 2026). https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/added-sugars-nutrition-facts-label
  5. Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, FDA. https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/daily-value-nutrition-and-supplement-facts-labels
  6. Child Food Poverty: Nutrition Deprivation in Early Childhood, UNICEF, June 2024. https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/1-4-children-globally-live-severe-child-food-poverty-due-inequity-conflict-and
  7. Williams AM, Couch CA, Emmerich SD, Ogburn DF. Ultra-processed Food Consumption in Youth and Adults: United States, August 2021-August 2023. NCHS Data Brief No. 536, 2025. https://cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db536.htm

This handbook is a compilation, paraphrased from the cited public sources, with each figure traceable to its source; it is not a peer-reviewed publication. It provides health and wellness information for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Consult your clinician before changing your diet or exercise. Published by Nutrisize Health, a product of EqualInformation, LLC, Sunnyvale, CA, USA. October 2026.

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