Health, Fitness, and Nutrition in Spanish: Vocab & Activities for Kids

Staying healthy is essential in any language! Learning about fitness and nutrition in Spanish allows kids to become familiar with concepts and words related to the multiple health benefits of regular exercise, proper diet, and staying active. 

If you’re looking to introduce healthy habits for young Spanish learners, knowing all about balanced nutrition in Spanish is a great way to get started. Join me in this amusing blog post where I’ll dive into vocabulary and activities related to health, fitness, and nutrition in Spanish. 

Healthy Habits in Spanish 

The majority of adults are increasingly aware of how important it is to follow a balanced diet and staying active. Teaching these habits to children shouldn’t be difficult, as kids are exposed to physical activity at school through recess, sports, or playing games. 

Acquiring healthy habits for kids leads them to maintain a healthy lifestyle when they are adults and will prevent certain conditions like obesity, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Recommended healthy habits for children in Spanish are:

• Nutrición balanceada (Balanced nutrition)
• Ejercicio (Physical exercise)
• Beber mucha agua (Drink a lot of water)
• Jugar más y ver menos televisión (Play more and watch less tv)
• Dormir lo suficiente (Get enough sleep)
• Buena higiene (Good hygiene)

Fitness and Exercise in Spanish for Kids

Fitness for kids means playing and being physically active. Kids are able to exercise when they have gym class, at sports practice, riding their bike, playing games, or during recess. Like adults, kids receive different benefits from staying active. 

Exercise and Fitness Vocabulary

Let’s take a look at some key exercise and fitness words in Spanish.

English	Spanish
Health	La salud
Fitness	El estado físico
Exercise	El ejercicio
Energy	La energía
Endurance	La resistencia
Stretches	Los estiramientos
Balance	El equilibrio
Stamina	El aguante
Strength	La fuerza
Effort	El esfuerzo
Flexibility / elasticity	La flexibilidad / La elasticidad
Bones	Los huesos
Muscles	Los músculos
Ligaments	Los ligamentos
Tendons	Los tendones
Movement	El movimiento
Training	El entrenamiento
To sweat	sudar
To be fit	estar en forma
To get tired	cansarse
To breathe	respirar

Now let’s take a look at the types of exercise and workouts in Spanish.

English	Spanish
Gym	El gimnasio
Aerobics	Los aeróbicos
Yoga	El yoga
Swimming	La natación
Riding a bike	bicicletear
Sports	Los deportes
Basketball	El básquetbol / El baloncesto
Football	El fútbol
Baseball	El béisbol
Dodgeball	El matado / El quemado
Volleyball	El vóleibol
Running	correr
Skating / rollerblading	patinar
Walking	caminar
Jogging	trotar
Playing	jugar
Squats	Las sentadillas
Push ups	Las lagartijas / Las flexiones
Pull ups	Las dominadas
Dance / dancing	El baile / bailar
Crunches	Los abdominales
Weights	Las pesas

Workout Phrases in Spanish

Once you’ve covered the previous basic vocabulary with the kids and they feel comfortable with it, you can move on to longer phrases that will help them with grammar and building confidence in their conversational phrases. A few example sentences that can come in handy are:

Él está en el gimnasio.
He ‘s at the gym.

Ayer no fui a clase de baile.
I didn’t go to dance class yesterday.

Ella dejó de patinar y empezó a jugar baloncesto.
She stopped skating and started doing basketball.

¿Cuántas veces a la semana haces ejercicio?
How many times a week do you exercise?

Me gusta practicar yoga.
I like practicing yoga. 

Es importante hacer estiramientos antes de ejercitarse.
It’s important to stretch before exercising. 

Todos los días hago treinta abdominales.
Everyday I do thirty crunches. 

Me siento saludable gracias al ejercicio.
I feel healthy because of exercise. 

Nutrition in Spanish for Kids

Now let’s turn our attention to the base of every healthy lifestyle: una dieta balanceada (a balanced diet). Experts recommend to diversity as much of the food groups as possible for children, specially to avoid excessive intake of sugars, saturated fats, and sodas. The sooner children are initiated into vegetables, legumes, and fruits; the easier it’ll be to diversify these into their diet.  

If your children are learning Spanish, teaching them and getting them involved with the different food groups enables them to eat well without noticing while enriching their language abilities. 

Let’s take a look at the food pyramid and daily recommended intake of each group for kids.

Food Pyramid – Pirámide Alimenticia

Dulces, grasas y aceites
Sweets, fats, and oils
Recommendation: Comer de vez en cuando. (Eat seldom.)

Lácteos
Dairy
Recommendation: Dos porciones. (Two servings.)

Carnes, pescado, legumbres
Meats, fish, legumes
Recommendation: Dos porciones. (Two servings.)

Vegetales
Vegetables
Recommendation: Tres porciones. (Three servings.)

Frutas
Fruits
Recommendation: Dos porciones. (Two servings.)

Granos
Grains
Recommendation: Seis porciones. (Six servings.)

Agua
Water
Recommendation: Seis a ocho porciones. (Six to eight servings.)

Useful Diet and Nutrition in Spanish Vocabulary

Let’s examine the different concepts and words related to children’s nutrition in Spanish.

English	Spanish
Nutrition	La nutrición
Diet	La dieta
Healthy	sano / saludable
Calories	Las calorías
Food / foods	la comida / El alimento / Los alimentos
Low fat / high fat	bajo en grasa / alto en grasa
High in sugar / sugar free	alto en azúcar / libre de azúcar
Gluten free	libre de gluten
Vegan	vegano (a)
Vegetarian	vegetariano (a)
Coeliac	celíaca (o)
Ration / portion / serving	La ración / La porción
Hunger	El hambre
Thirst	La sed
Fats / trans fats	Las grasas / Las grasas trans
Protein	La proteína
Vitamins	Las vitaminas
Minerals	Los minerales
Carbohydrates	Los carbohidratos
Fibre	La fibra
Calcium	El calcio
Sodium	El sodio
Nutrients	Los nutrientes
Junk food	La comida chatarra

Nutritious Foods in Spanish

Teach your kids and students all about the delicious, scrumptious, healthy foods they can enjoy while learning about nutrition in Spanish. Let’s take a look at useful words and concepts.

English	Spanish
Apples	Las manzanas
Oranges	Las naranjas
Bananas	Las bananas / Los bananos
Celery	El apio
Peppers	Los pimientos
Berries	Las bayas
Meat	La carne
Chicken	El pollo
Pork	El cerdo
Fish	El pescado
Seafood	Los mariscos
Milk	La leche
Yogurt	El yogur
Cheese	El queso
Potatoes	Las papas / Las patatas
Granola	La granola
Oatmeal	La avena
Rice	El arroz
Nuts	Las nueces
Olive oil	El aceite de oliva
Wholemeal bread	El pan integral
Spinach	La espinaca
Brocoli	El brocoli
Lettuce	La lechuga
Carrots	Las zanahorias

Nutrition in Spanish Phrases

Useful phrases for communicating about nutrition in Spanish are fundamental for amping up conversational skills and boosting self-confidence. Let’s take a look at some phrases that’ll be of use for your kids.

Es importante mantenerse hidratado.
It’s important to stay hydrated.

Me gusta comer de todo.
I like eating all sorts of food.

Soy alérgico a…
I’m allergic to…

Sigo una dieta balanceada y saludable.
I follow a balanced and healthy diet.

Prefiero no comer comida alta en grasa.
I prefer not to eat high-fat foods.

Me encantan los vegetales altos en fibra y vitaminas.
I love vegetables that are high in fiber and vitamins. 

Yo necesito comer lácteos dos veces al día.
I need to eat dairy twice a day. 

Es importante comer frutas y verduras.
It’s important to eat fruits and vegetables.

Spanish Activities and Games for a Healthy Lifestyle

Now that I’ve covered words and concepts related to fitness and nutrition in Spanish, it’s time to explore the different resources and enjoyable activities for improving your kids skills. 

Diana Come Sano (Healthy eating with Diana)

Ideal for: Kids of all ages.

This wonderful app is available for download in IOS and Android, and allows you to choose between Spanish, English, and Catalan. All of the app’s content has been revised by a nutritionist and specialized doctor, so you can be sure all the information provided is legit and checked beforehand. Diana come sano has different games related to nutrition in Spanish, and allows children to understand what foods allow us to grow, which give energy, and what types of food should be eaten on smaller intakes. This app is proved to be a great resource for reinforcing knowledge of nutrition in Spanish.

¡Salud, Familia! (Health, family!) Books

Ideal for: Preschool and elementary students.

Illustrated books are a great Spanish learning resource for children. The ¡Salud, familia! book series by Piñata Books offers health education and nutrition in Spanish information. The stars of the storylines are children making choices about exercise and eating. They are full of engaging vocabulary and joyful stories that allow kids to connect with all things related to a healthy lifestyle. The following books from the series are available for purchase on Amazon:

• Un día sin azúcar (A day without sugar)
• Adelita y las primas verduritas (Adelita and the veggie cousins)
• Bailemos salsa (Let’s salsa)
• Paso de nivel (Level up)

Mi Plato (MyPlate)

Ideal for: All level students.

The United States Department of Agriculture has a top website called MyPlate full of free resources for children of all ages. You can find coloring sheets, word games, quizzes, videos, and recipes related to nutrition in Spanish. You can use their search engine to find and filter the different resources available for parents and educators. 

Spanish Food Choices

Ideal for: Middle school.

These worksheets available for download are ideal for beginner students who are learning how to talk about healthy food and nutrition in Spanish. The first part, encourages students to read sentences and play with verb conjugations and preferences. The second part, allows students to write about their healthy food choices in Spanish. 

Spanish SuperMarket

Ideal for: Preschool. 

Get the little ones interested in nutrition in Spanish with a game of Spanish supermarket! Print out our free template, and use this worksheet with illustrations to teach your students how to identify the different food groups individually following the descriptions you provide. Give a template to each of your students, have each one bring an example of each food group, and have them set up a supermarket around class. You can make it as each student is shopping for healthy foods. Compliment the terminology using our flashcards and include prizes to keep them motivated.

Start Talking About Healthy Foods and Nutrition in Spanish!

I hope after reading this blog post you feel prepared to introduce healthy habits and nutritious foods to children in Spanish. Feel free to come back to this list of vocabulary and activities whenever you need support on the subject. 

Now if you’re looking to apply these new concepts related to nutrition in Spanish, I encourage you to sign up for a free trial class with our certified, Spanish-speaking teachers from Guatemala. At Homeschool Spanish Academy, we have over ten years of experience and teach more than 24,000 students each month. The lessons can be tailored to your needs and are guaranteed to improve the fluency of your kids, no matter what level they’re in.

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