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Year 6

The impact of a balanced diet

I can describe the impact of diet on the human body.

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Year 6

The impact of a balanced diet

I can describe the impact of diet on the human body.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Diet is the type and range of food that you eat regularly.
  2. Eating food with essential nutrients is important for good health, growth and development.
  3. The foods we choose to eat can have an impact on how our bodies function.
  4. Balanced diets can lower chances of developing chronic diseases.

Keywords

  • Diet - A diet is the sort of food animals including humans eat regularly.

  • Impact - The impact of something is the effect it has.

  • Nutrients - A nutrient is any substance that plants or animals need in order to live or grow.

  • Beneficial - Something beneficial is something that is good; it results in benefits.

Common misconception

Pupils may think that the word ‘diet’ refers to ‘going on a diet’ and lowering calorie intake or restricting intake of fats or sugars, and in turn think that this constitutes a ‘healthy’ diet.

Explain that the word ‘diet’ means the things that we eat regularly, and that a balanced diet is made up of a balanced intake of different types of foods.


To help you plan your year 6 science lesson on: The impact of a balanced diet, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Pupils could explore the weekly school dinner menu and think about which choices they could make to ensure their diet is balanced and includes a good range of foods of each different type. This lesson contains a diagnostic question on slide 23-24 - see additional materials for further guidance.
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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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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
A balanced diet is beneficial to our health. What does beneficial mean?
An image in a quiz
it has no impact
Correct answer: it has a positive impact
it has a negative impact
Q2.
If something is essential, it is…
Correct answer: needed and very important.
not needed and unimportant.
optional.
very enjoyable.
Q3.
Which statement about nutrients is incorrect?
An image in a quiz
Animals get nutrients from the food they eat.
Nutrients are important substances that living things need to grow and survive.
Correct answer: Animals produce their own nutrients inside their bodies.
Q4.
Which system in the body is responsible for breaking down the food we eat and absorbing important nutrients?
the circulatory system
Correct answer: the digestive system
the nervous system
Q5.
Which body system is responsible for transporting oxygen and nutrients around the body in the blood?
Correct answer: the circulatory system
the digestive system
the nervous system
Q6.
Starting with food being chewed in the mouth, put the stages of digestion into the correct order.
An image in a quiz
1 - Food is chewed in the mouth.
2 - Food moves down the oesophagus.
3 - Food arrives in the stomach where it is digested further by stomach acid.
4 - Partly digested food moves to the small intestine where nutrients are absorbed.
5 - Anything left moves through the large intestine and out through the anus.
Q6 La Gorda/Shutterstock

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the food groups to the types of food that is a good source of each.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer:dairy and alternatives,milk, cheese, yogurt
tick

milk, cheese, yogurt

Correct Answer:meats and protein,lentils, eggs, beef
tick

lentils, eggs, beef

Correct Answer:carbohydrates,pasta, rice, bread
tick

pasta, rice, bread

Correct Answer:fat and spreads,olive oil, butter
tick

olive oil, butter

Correct Answer:fruit and veg,carrots, lettuce, tomatoes
tick

carrots, lettuce, tomatoes

Q2.
A person’s is all of the different types of food that they eat regularly.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: diet
Q3.
Eating foods that contain essential is important for good health, growth and development.
Correct Answer: nutrients, nutrient, nutrition, amino acids
Q4.
Why is it important to eat a balanced diet?
An image in a quiz
because we need to clear our plates so we don’t waste food
because we need to eat food we enjoy so we’re not hungry
Correct answer: because we need the essential nutrients to allow our bodies to function properly
Q5.
A balanced diet in childhood can lead to…
An image in a quiz
lower ability to heal after injuries.
Correct answer: lower likelihood of developing some diseases.
Correct answer: increased lifespan.
increased chance of developing heart disease.
Q6.
Which of these diets would be beneficial to your health?
a diet high in fatty and sugary foods
a diet that contains only protein-rich foods
Correct answer: a diet that has the right amounts of all the different types of foods
a diet with no carbohydrates at all

Additional material

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