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New
New
Year 11
AQA

A balanced diet

I can explain the importance of a balanced diet and how it supports overall health and performance.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 11
AQA

A balanced diet

I can explain the importance of a balanced diet and how it supports overall health and performance.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A balanced diet includes a variety of foods to provide essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
  2. No single food item provides all the necessary nutrients, so diversity in food choices is crucial.
  3. Calorie requirements are dependent on activity levels and the length and intensity of the activity.
  4. Athletes may need to eat more of a specific nutrient to meet their needs., e.g. weightlifters and protein.

Keywords

  • Balanced diet - it is defined as eating: the right amount (of calories) for energy expended; according to how much you exercise; different food types to provide suitable nutrients, vitamins and minerals

  • Carbohydrate - the body's preferred energy source

  • Protein - essential for the growth and repair of muscle tissue

  • Energy - the ability to perform activities and sustain effort

Common misconception

There are many misconceptions about diet, such as, the need to cut out carbohydrates or fat because they are seen as responsible for weight gain.

A balanced diet requires all nutrients because each has its own benefits to the body and health. Cutting any of them out completely will negatively impact overall health and performance in sport and physical activity.


To help you plan your year 11 physical education lesson on: A balanced diet, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

A complementary activity for this lesson is for students to input the food they ate the previous day into an online nutrition calculator and reflect on the results.
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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Starting with the lowest, put these in order of how many calories you would consume if you performed them.
1 - 30 minutes napping
2 - 30 minutes sitting at your laptop
3 - 30 minutes of walking
4 - 30 minutes jogging
5 - 30 minutes HIIT training session
Q2.
What is the best way to maintain a healthy weight?
skip meals
Correct answer: eat a balanced diet
cut carbs and fats
go on a diet
Q3.
Match the statements about energy balance to the consequence.
Correct Answer:weight gain,consuming more calories each day than you expend (calorie surplus)
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consuming more calories each day than you expend (calorie surplus)

Correct Answer:weight maintained,consuming and expending a balanced amount of calories each day
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consuming and expending a balanced amount of calories each day

Correct Answer:weight loss,consuming less calories than you expend each day (calorie deficit)
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consuming less calories than you expend each day (calorie deficit)

Q4.
Which of these do you need in your diet to make sure you have strong teeth?
iron
zinc
Correct answer: calcium
phosphorus
Q5.
Which of these are functions of the body needing a continual supply of energy known as basal metabolic rate (BMR)?
Correct answer: keeping the heart beating
running
Correct answer: maintaining body temperature
brushing our teeth
Correct answer: brain function
Q6.
What nutrient does the body use as its preferred energy source?
Correct Answer: carbohydrate, carbohydrates

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the nutrient to its main role.
Correct Answer:carbohydrates,the main source of energy in both aerobic and anaerobic activities
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the main source of energy in both aerobic and anaerobic activities

Correct Answer:fats,provides energy in low intensity, long duration activities
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provides energy in low intensity, long duration activities

Correct Answer:protein, used for growth and repair of muscles
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used for growth and repair of muscles

Q2.
Starting with the highest amount, put these in order according to how much of a general balanced diet should consist of these nutrients.
1 - carbohydrates
2 - fats
3 - protein
4 - minerals
Q3.
Protein should provide approximately what % of our calories each day?
55-60%
25-30%
Correct answer: 15-20%
Q4.
Match the activity with the approximate calories used per day by performers in that activity.
Correct Answer:sedentary females,2000 Kcal
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2000 Kcal

Correct Answer:sedentary males,2500 Kcal
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2500 Kcal

Correct Answer:power lifter,3500 Kcal
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3500 Kcal

Correct Answer:boxer,5000 Kcal
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5000 Kcal

Correct Answer:tour cyclist,6000 Kcal
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6000 Kcal

Q5.
The nutrient used by the body as a secondary source of energy during low intensity activities is .
Correct Answer: fat, fats
Q6.
Athletes need to increase their protein intake if they incorporate which method of training regularly into their routine?
continuous training
stretching
Correct answer: weight training
fartlek training