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Innovation in Learning

GENERAL ISSUES

A healthy diet
Lesson code: JF6A-V61B-C4CQ-Q

UPPER INTERMEDIATE +

1 Warm-up
What do you know about the Mediterranean diet?

2 Key words
Read the sentences below and match the underlined words to their definitions.
1. When Joe was a student, he used to fill up on bread and eggs.
2. The benefits of doing exercise every day outweigh the drawbacks.
3. Doctors warned Mike that his intake of red meat was too high.
4. Dean was overweight so he decided to adhere to a strict diet.
5. Eating a balanced diet is good for you, regardless of your age.
a. consumption
b. eat (something) until you are full
c. follow, maintain
d. in spite of
e. is/are more important than

3 Find the information

You are going to read an article about a recent study on the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet.
Complete the statements below.
1. Adopting a Mediterranean diet can cut your risk of developing heart disease by almost
cent.
2. More than

per

adults took part in the survey.

3. The participants were aged 18 to

4. The participants provided the researchers with details about their health each year from
2012.

to

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per cent of the men and 12 per cent of the women who took part in
5. During the decade almost
the study developed or died from heart disease.

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A healthy diet
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Innovation in Learning

GENERAL ISSUES

Mediterranean diet better than exercise

at preventing heart disease, regardless
of your age or gender, study finds.
Scientists at Harokopio University in Athens are the first to track heart disease in a
general population.
1 You've heard the evidence before but one can
never be too sure yet another study has shown
that adopting a Mediterranean diet is good for
your health.
2 Filling up on oily fish, nuts, whole grains and fruit
and vegetables and even the odd glass of red
wine could cut your risk of developing heart
disease by almost half over a 10-year period.
3 Scientists at Harokopio University in Athens found
that the benefits even outweigh those of regular
exercise and it doesn't matter whether you're a
man or a woman, old or young.
4 The study, which will be presented at the
American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual
Scientific Session in San Diego later this month,
reinforces previous research.
5 But it is also the first of its kind, in that it tracked
heart disease risk in a general population. Most
other studies have focused on middle-aged
people.

health each year from 2001 to 2012. The

participants also completed comprehensive
surveys about their medical records lifestyle and
dietary habits three times throughout the study: at
the start, after five years and after 10 years.
9 During the decade almost a fifth (20 per cent) of
the men and 12 per cent of the women who took
part in the study developed or died from heart
disease. Overall, those who most closely adhered
to a Mediterranean-style diet were found to be 47
per cent less likely to develop heart disease than
those who did not.
10 This figure was the same regardless of other risk
factors such as age, gender, family history and
smoking habits, all of which the researchers
accounted for.
11 "Because the Mediterranean diet is based on food
groups that are quite common or easy to find,
people around the world could easily adopt this
dietary pattern and help protect themselves
against heart disease with very little cost,"
Georgousopoulou said.

6 Ekavi Georgousopoulou, a PhD candidate, who

conducted the study along with Professor
Demosthenes B Panagiotakos, said: "Our study
shows that the Mediterranean diet is beneficial for 12 According to the study, women are more likely to
all types of people in both genders, in all age
adopt a Mediterranean diet than men.
groups, and in both healthy people and those with
Georgousopoulou also pointed out that although
health conditions.
Greece is in the Mediterranean, many Greeks have
adopted a more Western diet also known as the
7 "It also reveals that the Mediterranean diet has
meat-sweet diet over the past 40 years. This
direct benefits for heart health, in addition to its
diet includes large amounts of red meat, sugary
indirect benefits in managing diabetes,
desserts, high-fat foods, and refined grains.
hypertension and inflammation."

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Adapted from The Independent, ANTONIA

MOLLOY, THURSDAY 05 MARCH 2015

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8 More than 2,500 Greek adults, aged 18 to 89,

provided researchers with details about their

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A healthy diet

Innovation in Learning

TM

GENERAL ISSUES

4 Checking understanding
What do you remember? Put T (True) or F (False) next to each statement below.
1. The Mediterranean diet includes oily fish, nuts, whole grains, fruit and vegetables and red wine.
2. Exercise is more beneficial than diet.
3. The results of the study contradict previous research.
4. The study focused on people of all age groups, not just middle-aged people.
5. The researchers didn't take into account other risk factors such as smoking habits.
6. Anybody can adopt the Mediterranean diet.
7. Men are more likely to adopt a Mediterranean diet than women.
8. Not all Greeks adopt a Mediterranean diet.

5 Prepositions
Complete each phrase from the text with a suitable preposition.
a study

1. take part
2. die

heart disease
a Mediterranean diet

3. adhere

4. protect yourself

heart disease

5. benefits

heart health

6. surveys

their medical records

Now make your own sentence for each phrase.

6 Talking point
Discuss any of the questions below.
1. Do people in your country need to adopt a healthy diet?
2. Is your country's national cuisine healthy?
3. Do people eat healthy food in your country?

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4. What in your opinion is a healthy lifestyle?

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A healthy diet - Key

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TM

Innovation in Learning

GENERAL ISSUES

1- Warm-up
Ask students what they think the Mediterranean diet consists of. Brainstorm ideas as a warm-up activity.
2- Key words
Students can work individually and check in pairs. Go through the answers.

1. b

2. e

3. a

4. c

5. d

3- Find the information

Students can work individually and check in pairs. Go through the answers.

1. 50

2. 2500

3. 89

4. 2001

5. 20

4- Checking understanding
Students can work individually and check in pairs. Go through the answers and clear up any misunderstandings.

1. T

2. F

3. F

4. T

5. F

6. T

7. F

8. T

5- Prepositions
Students can work individually and check in pairs.

4. against

5. for

6. about

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3. to

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2. from

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1. in

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