Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Healthy Weight Management
This domain tests your command of nutrient math, current dietary and activity guidance, and energy balance, plus your ability to plan and defend nutrition and fitness instruction for preK–12 students. Most items are numeric or guideline-specific, so know the reference values cold.
Plate and reference numbers
- MyPlate: half the plate vegetables and fruits (slightly more vegetables), grains slightly more than a quarter (make half whole grains), protein slightly less than a quarter, plus fat-free or low-fat milk or water.
- Energy per gram: carbohydrate 4 kcal, protein 4 kcal, fat 9 kcal, alcohol 7 kcal.
- 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans: added sugars under 10% of calories (none before age 2), saturated fat under 10% of calories, sodium under 2,300 mg/day, fiber roughly 14 g per 1,000 kcal (about 25 g women, 38 g men).
Body composition and weight status
BMI = 703 × weight (lb) ÷ height (in)². Adult cutoffs: under 18.5 underweight, 18.5–24.9 healthy, 25–29.9 overweight, 30+ obesity. For ages 2–19, use CDC sex-specific BMI-for-age percentiles: 85th–94th overweight, 95th and above obesity. Never apply adult cutoffs to children.
Activity guidance
Ages 6–17: 60+ minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity daily, with vigorous activity and muscle/bone strengthening three days per week. Adults: 150–300 minutes moderate or 75–150 minutes vigorous weekly plus two days of strengthening. Teach the FITT-VP frame (frequency, intensity, time, type, volume, progression).
Worked example
A snack has 40 g carbohydrate, 10 g protein, 10 g fat. Energy = (40 × 4) + (10 × 4) + (10 × 9) = 160 + 40 + 90 = 290 kcal. If 90 of those kcal are fat, fat supplies 31% of energy - above the recommended ceiling, which is why you convert grams to kcal before comparing to percentage guidelines. A student repeating "10 grams of fat is low" has compared grams to a percentage benchmark, a classic error.
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing kcal per gram for fat (9) with alcohol (7) or protein (4).
- Using adult BMI categories for a 12-year-old.
- Forgetting the added-sugar limit begins at age 2 - none is recommended before age 2.
- Endorsing spot reduction, fasting, or elimination diets as healthy weight-management strategies for adolescents.