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Carbohydrates in a healthy balanced diet
Children's diets
Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)
Dental Health
Diabetes
Obesity
Physical Activity
Carbohydrates in a healthy balanced diet
A healthy balanced diet is essential for good health. The key to making our diet healthy and balanced is simply a variety of foods and everything in moderation. Moderation is important, because anything over-consumed will unbalance the diet and in the case of some nutrients - fat and alcohol in particular - could also lead to health problems. As for variety, this will not only make the diet more interesting and enjoyable, but will also help ensure that the requirements for all the micronutrients - vitamins and minerals - are met.
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Children's diets
Eating well and being physically active is essential for any child’s health and development. As children are active and grow rapidly they have a high energy requirement. This requirement is high relative to their body size (per kilo of body weight children need more calories than adults!). However, younger children may have a small appetite due to the small size of their stomachs, so the frequent consumption of energy and nutrient rich foods in small amounts is essential to ensure that their nutrient requirements are met. Of course, children’s dietary requirements vary considerably according to age – a food which is suitable for a five year old is not necessarily appropriate for a two year old, and the energy requirements of an eight year old are higher than those of a four year old.
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Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)
CHD affects more than 2.5 million people in the UK and comes in two main forms - angina and heart attack. Angina is a pain in the chest and is caused by a narrowing of the blood vessels that supply the heart (atheroscelerosis). If one of these vessels becomes blocked by a blood clot (thrombosis) a heart attack results.
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Dental Health
One of the greatest health achievements in the last 30 years has been the improvement in dental health - particularly in children. The reason tooth decay has become much less common is due to the introduction of fluoride toothpaste around 1976. The regular use of fluoride toothpaste seems to strengthen the tooth enamel and may also discourage the bacteria that produce the damaging acids.
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Diabetes
Diabetes is a common health problem which affects almost 3% of the UK population. More than three-quarters of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent diabetes) and rely on diet and/or oral agents to control their blood glucose (blood ‘sugar’) levels. The majority of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight. Therefore, weight management is a crucial aspect in the prevention of type 2 diabetes and the management of diabetes in general.
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Obesity
Obesity is a growing health problem in the UK. Currently, over half of the adult population are overweight, with 17% of men and 21% of women being classified as obese. However, in general, the public view obesity more as an aesthetic problem than as the serious health problem it is. The fact is, excess weight is a major risk factor for premature death, cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, certain cancers and other chronic health problems. Despite this obesity rates continue to rise.
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Physical Activity
The physiological and psychological rewards of being physically active are well established. The list of the important benefits of exercise is extensive, but fall into four major categories: enhancing function; maintaining reserve capacities; preventing disease; and ameliorating the effects of age and chronic disease. It is well known that physical inactivity or a sedentary lifestyle is related to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and other chronic disease states, such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis and certain forms of cancer.
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