Blending Nutrition and Physical Activity: An Activity Guide for Use with Blender Bikes

Although dietary guidelines recommend eating more fruits and vegetables, consuming fat-free or low-fat dairy, and limiting calories from added sugar[14], many Americans consume half or less of the daily recommended amounts of these foods[2,3,8,10]. Middle school- and high school-aged children are especially lacking in fruits and vegetables[7]. Research also indicates that sugar-sweetened beverages are the single largest source of added sugars in adolescents' diets[12] and that they consume two to three times the recommended limit for added sugars[6]. In addition, many children and adolescents do not get the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity[4,13]. Research shows that hands-on experiences with food, taste testing, and cooking classes are not only fun and enjoyable for young people[5, 16], but they are also effective strategies for teaching abstract concepts and changing health-related attitudes and behaviors[11,15]. As well, hands-on activities and positive taste testing experience can translate into interest in making foods at home, which in turn may help meet dietary recommendations[9]. Enter the blender bike – a tool that aids in achieving the aforementioned health-related recommendations. Although the experience of pedaling a blender bike is fun, it is short lived. We believed that with associated learning activities, the blender bike would be a vehicle for conveying nutrition and physical activity concepts. Therefore, we created Blending Nutrition and Physical Activity: An Activity Guide for Use with Blender Bikes to fill this gap. To align with the Dietary Guidelines[14], recipes included in the guide feature fruits and vegetables, are low fat, and contain no added sugar. We started with fruit smoothies, as they are familiar to many people and have been found to aid in increasing fruit consumption[1]. The activities also include making a smoothie by customizing a standard recipe and taste testing different foods that can be easily replicated at home with a regular blender. Although a short time pedaling a blender bike is not enough to contribute to the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity[13], the activities address the relationship between food consumed and energy expended. The presenters developed the activity guide based on their experiences using a blender bike with groups throughout the past two years. The curriculum, comprised of five activities with accompanying background information, fact sheets, resources, and references, has been used successfully in classrooms, after-school programs, camps, and other events by both adult and teen leaders. The blender bike has traveled to many counties and has been well received at camps, classrooms, fairs, teen leader trainings, and other events. Since 2016, it was used at 67 events reaching more than 5,500 people. The curriculum is undergoing peer review and will be available for download from our website.