THE IMPORTANCE OF A BALANCED DIET

What is a diet ?
Diet refers to the food and drinks that we consume daily.
A balanced diet :
One which contains carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, w
and fibre in the correct quantities and proportions.
- must contain the right amount of energy to enable a person to meet
his daily activities.
- In order to stay healthy.
-The composition of balanced diet varies from one individual to anothe
according to :
1. Age
2. Size
3. Sex
4. Job/occupation
5. Physical activity
6. Climate
7. State of health
Age:
growing children and young people are
very
active and require more energy.
older people do not need to eat as much
food
(less active and do not grow any more).
Body size :
the bigger a person is, the more food
he or she is need to survive.
the rate of metabolism is higher in
a bigger person.

Sex :
men need more energy rich nutrients
than women (small amount of fatty tissue)
women need bigger amounts of some
minerals and vitamins.

Job/occupation
a sedentary worker requires a lower
energy intake than a manual worker
like a trishaw peddler.
 UNBALANCED DIET
People can suffer from malnutrition and deficiency disease when do not
eat a balanced diet.
may have sufficient energy but deficient in certain classes of food.
millions of people in the world suffer from:
- high blood pressure, heart disease (a diet which contains too much salt)
- osteoporosis ( lack of Calcium)
- diabetes mellitus, obesity (a diet which contains too much sugar, carboh
and fats)

ENERGY VALUE OF FOOD

the unit of energy in food can be measured in calories (cal) or joules (J).
Calorific value : the amount of energy released from 1 gram of a particular type
of food
: the amount of heat energy released when 1 gram of food is
completely burnt in the air.
: 1 calorie (cal) equal to 4.2 joules (J)
: is measured in kilojoules per gram (kJ/g) or
kilocalories per gram (kcal/g)
energy values of food depends on the class of food. Which class of food has
the highest energy value?
PLANNING A BALANCED DIET

the different kinds of local food have the different calorific values.
to ensure that the diet is balanced, we have to choose a food type from each
of the four main group in food pyramid.
to ensure that the body has sufficient energy to function physically, to grow and
to maintain good health.

Guidelines
1. Eat sufficient quantities, not too much nor to little.
2. Include all classes of food
3. Eat food that is rich in carbohydrates, proteins and fibre.
4. Eat less fatty and sweet food
5. Eat food that is rich in vitamins and mineral salt
6. Use only a little salt and oil in cooking.
7. Drink a lot of water.

HOW TO CALCULATE THE CALORIFIC VALUE OF FOOD