Abstract:

Obesity is becoming one of the major problems associated with youth and childhood. In 2030 diseases resulting from it, will be one of the main problems from an early age [1].
Deficiencies in nutrition education acquired during childhood and adolescence persist during adulthood [2], making it necessary to develop educational programs that emphasize the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
In the current Spanish curriculum, there are some contents related to this topic and they also complement the development of the scientific competence in the students, although the resources and methodologies applied do not achieve the desired results.
This paper presents a work proposal through the use of a virtual laboratory included within the PhET Colorado platform: food and exercise [3]. The objective is to introduce the study of nutrition education in the classroom of third year of secondary education (3º ESO) in a clear, simple and useful way.
A virtual laboratory has been selected for the study, based on its technical characteristics, its contents, how it promotes learning and development of scientific competencies of the student.
The selected virtual laboratory and the pedagogical proposal presented to be used in the classroom is focused on a collaborative work involving the application of a participatory-research methodology, which is complemented by the use of articles of interest related to the topic of study involving the inclusion of a Science, Technology and Society (STS) relationship.
The full implementation of the pedagogical proposal through the Virtual Laboratory, involves not only the use of the resource with the advantages of an ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) but also allows its development as a LKT (Learning and Knowledge Technologies).

References:
[1] Webber, L., Divajeva, D., Marsh, T., McPherson, K., Brown, M., Galea, G., & Breda, J. (2014). The future burden of obesity-related diseases in the 53 WHO European- Region countries and the impact of effective interventions: a modelling study. BMJ open, 4(7), 1-8.
[2] Díaz Martín, J.J (2015). Salud cardiovascular: hipertensión y dislipemias. En Libro blanco de la nutrición infantil en España. (pp. 165-169). Cátedra Ordesa de la Universidad de Zaragoza .
[3] http:// phet.colorado.edu/es/simulation/legacy/ eating-and-exercice

Keywords:

Virtual Lab, Phet interactive simulations, healthy lifestyles, Secondary Education