Your Guide to Healthy Eating
Using the Food Pyramid
NEW
for Adults and Children over 5 years of age
Using the Food Pyramid and the Healthy Eating Guidelines Watch Portion Sizes
Do you want to feel good and have more energy? Portion sizes are very important for all ages, but particularly for children from 5-13 years.
When making food and drink choices, it is important to follow the recommended number
Do you want to maintain a healthy weight and help reduce your risk of becoming ill from high of servings from each shelf of the Food Pyramid. A serving is a unit of measure used to
blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and other chronic
describe the total amount of foods recommended daily from each of the shelves of the
diseases?
Food Pyramid. The actual portion that you eat may be bigger or smaller than the servings
listed in the Food Pyramid and if so, you count these as ½ a serving or 2 servings. See
Eating healthy food and being physically active are two of the most important
the examples for bread given on page 7.
steps that you can take to improve your health. To help you do this, follow the
Healthy Eating Guidelines, use the Food Pyramid Guide and the Physical Activity
Guidelines. Portion size servings for children
While the Food Pyramid can be used as a guide for children over 5 years, it is important
Healthy eating is about getting the correct amount of nutrients – protein, fat, that children eat according to their growth and appetite. Smaller children will need
carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals you need to maintain good health. smaller servings - so start with smaller portion sizes from the Bread, Cereals, Potatoes,
Pasta and Rice shelf of the Food Pyramid and increase these as the child asks for more.
Foods that contain the same type of nutrients are grouped together on each of the Children need a well balanced diet to get enough but not too many calories, and the
shelves of the Food Pyramid. This gives you a choice of different foods from which to vitamins and minerals they need to be healthy.
choose a healthy diet. Following the Food Pyramid as a guide will help you get the right
balance of nutritious foods within your calorie range. Studies show that we take in too Foods and drinks from the Top shelf of the Food Pyramid are not essential for health.
many calories from foods and drinks high in fat, sugar and salt, on the Top Shelf of the These foods provide mostly calories and are best limited to ½ - 1 serving a day
Food Pyramid. maximum. Higher amounts of these can lead to overweight and obesity. Sugar
They provide very little of the essential vitamins and minerals your body needs. sweetened drinks, in particular if taken regularly, can promote overweight and obesity.
Limiting these is essential for healthy eating. One in four 7 year old children is overweight or obese.
At different stages in your life you have different daily nutrient requirements. These The advice in this booklet for children is about healthy eating and not about reducing weight.
depend on your age, whether you are male or female and how active you are. While the
general number of servings for adults and children over 5 years of age is given for each
shelf of the Food Pyramid, where there are different requirements, the recommended
number of servings is highlighted underneath the Food Pyramid picture on pages 8, 10,
12 and 14. Try to pick a variety of foods from each of the bottom 4 shelves every day to
get a good range of vitamins and minerals.
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