Describe the parts of a balanced diet and their jobs, and explain how healthy choices help prevent disease

What this dot point is asking

This dot point wants you to describe what makes up a balanced diet, state the job of each food group, and explain how healthy choices help prevent disease. The big idea is that the body needs a range of different foods in the right amounts to stay healthy. Too little or too much of certain foods, along with a lack of exercise, can lead to health problems, while good choices help keep the body well.

The answer

What a balanced diet is

A balanced diet is one that contains the right amounts of all the different food groups the body needs. No single food gives you everything, so eating a variety in sensible amounts keeps the body healthy. The main parts of a balanced diet each have a job.

The food groups and their jobs

• Carbohydrates (such as rice, bread, noodles and potatoes) are the body's main source of energy for moving and working.
• Proteins (such as meat, fish, eggs, beans and tofu) are needed for growth and repair of the body, including building muscles and healing wounds.
• Fats (such as oils, butter and nuts) give a store of energy and help keep the body warm, but are only needed in moderate amounts.
• Vitamins and minerals (found in fruit and vegetables) are needed only in small amounts but are vital for staying healthy. For example, a mineral called iron helps make healthy blood, and a vitamin called vitamin C helps keep the body well.
• Fibre (found in fruit, vegetables and wholegrains) is not digested but helps keep the gut healthy and moving.
• Water is needed in large amounts; the body is mostly water and needs it for almost everything it does.

Why balance matters

Eating too little of a food group, or too much, can cause problems. Too little of certain vitamins or minerals can cause illness; too much fatty and sugary food can lead to becoming overweight and to other health problems. The aim is balance: enough of each group, but not too much of any.

Healthy choices and disease

Good daily choices help prevent disease and keep the body fit:

• Eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables and not too much fatty or sugary food. This helps avoid problems like becoming overweight, tooth decay and heart disease.
• Do regular exercise, which keeps the heart and muscles strong, helps control body weight by using up energy, and improves general health.
• Keep good hygiene, such as washing hands and food, which helps stop germs that cause infectious diseases from spreading.
• Get enough rest so the body can recover and stay healthy.

Diseases caused by germs

Some diseases are caused by tiny germs (such as bacteria and viruses) that spread from person to person, for example coughs and colds. Good hygiene, like washing hands and covering coughs, helps stop these spreading. Other health problems, like heart disease or type 2 diabetes, are linked to lifestyle choices such as poor diet and little exercise, and can often be reduced by healthier habits.

Examples in context

Example 1. The plate of food at lunch. A healthy lunch plate often shows the idea of balance: about half the plate is fruit and vegetables (for vitamins, minerals and fibre), with smaller portions of a carbohydrate like rice (for energy) and a protein like fish or beans (for growth and repair). The plate is a simple picture of a balanced diet.

Example 2. Washing hands before eating. Washing your hands before a meal removes germs that could otherwise be swallowed with your food and make you ill. This simple habit is a healthy choice that helps prevent infectious diseases from spreading, showing that hygiene is part of staying healthy too.

Try this

• Cue. Name the food group that gives the body most of its energy, and give one example. Carbohydrates give most of the body's energy; an example is rice (or bread, noodles or potatoes).

• Cue. State why proteins are an important part of the diet. Proteins are needed for growth and repair of the body, such as building muscles and healing wounds.

• Cue. Explain how regular exercise helps keep a person healthy. Exercise keeps the heart and muscles strong, helps control body weight by using up energy, and improves general health.