Our diet is very important. If we don’t get our diet right, there are consequences for your mental and physical health. This page will tell you about what’s in a balanced diet, how much energy is required in a balanced diet and the consequences of not eating a balanced diet.

What’s in a balanced diet

There are many parts of a balanced diet, including carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and more. We’ll explain what they mean and what foods you can get them from right now.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates can be found in bread, pasta, porridge and potatoes.
A bowl of spaghetti

A bowl of spaghetti

Lipids

Lipids can be found in nuts, avocados and some types of fish.

Proteins

Proteins can be found in meat, eggs, yoghurt and milk.

Vitamins and minerals

Vitamins and minerals can be found in fruit, vegetables and meat.

Fibre

Fibre (also known as “fiber”) can be found in grains (oats, wheat etc.), bread, fruits and vegetables. It helps to maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes (more on that later.)

Water

Water can be found (in large amounts) in juices, fruits and vegetables. It is needed because 80% of our body is made up of water. Three days is the maximum a human could go without drinking water before they die.

How much energy do I need?

The maximum energy amount a 7-10 year old child should have is around 1,700 calories. An adult man can have 2,500 calories and an adult woman can have 2,000 calories. The amount of energy you can have depends on how much exercise you do. Athletes tend to eat a lot more than the guidelines above as they do a lot of physical training and need the extra energy.

Consequences of an imbalanced diet

Sadly, those who don’t have a balanced diet face consequences. Here are the ones you need to know about:

Obesity

Obesity is basically when someone eats too much and doesn’t do enough exercise. This can lead to heart disease, types of cancer and type 2 diabetes.

What is diabetes?

Type-2 diabetes is when sugar levels in your blood are very high. This is because the body doesn’t use insulin, which regulates the blood-sugar levels, properly. In order to get the blood-sugar levels down, those who have it must eat healthily or do some exercise. Type-2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease and is the one that can be easily prevented by having a balanced diet and a lot of exercise.

Type-1 diabetes (for those who are wondering) is purely genetic (meaning that you have it from the moment you’re born) and is when blood sugar levels can get very low, and you must keep them at a suitable level. Unlike Type-2 diabetes, it isn’t immediately obvious whether someone has it or not.

Malnutrition

Malnutrition is caused by eating not enough nutritious foods, such as fruit and vegetables. Malnutrition also causes conditions such as rickets (see below.)

Rickets

Rickets is a condition that means the person has weak or soft bones.