Introduction

Food is essential for life as it is the source of energy and nutrients. Energy supports human activities whereas nutrients are vital for growth, repair, health maintenance and disease prevention.

Imbalanced or poor diet may lead to obesity or specific nutrient deficiency. These in turn may increase the risk of a variety of health problems, such as heart diseases, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and some cancers.

A balanced diet contributes to good health. For example, fresh fruit and vegetable consumptions protect against some forms of cancers.

Situation in Hong Kong

The Behavioural Risk Factor Survey April 2010 revealed that 80.3% of people aged 18-64 consumed less than 5 servings of fruit and/or vegetable per day, with 75.4% for females and 86.1% for males. According to the Population Health Survey 2003/2004, 60.7% and 37.6% of people aged 15 and above reported that they ate meat and fish everyday, and 7.8% reported that they ate food with high fat content at least once a day.

Healthy eating

A balanced diet shall include a variety of foods providing appropriate calorie and nutrients. The energy intake varies as a function of age, height, body weight and physical activity. The Food Pyramid is a useful practical guide for attaining a balanced diet.

Carbohydrate, protein, fat, minerals, vitamins and dietary fibre are essential nutrients. WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization (UN) recommend that at least 55% of daily energy intake shall come from carbohydrate, while 10% to 15% of daily energy intake shall come from protein. Daily fat intake should be limited to 15% to 30% of total daily energy and saturated fat to less than 10%. Cholesterol intake should be limited to 300mg per day while not more than 5g of salt should be consumed per day.

Adequate amount of fruit and vegetable intake play an essential role in healthy eating. WHO recommends a daily intake of at least 400 grams of fruits and vegetables (about 5 servings of fruits and vegetables) for the prevention of chronic diseases such as heart diseases, hypertension, cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes and certain cancers.

Related information

To learn more about healthy diet and the Food Pyramid, please browse our website of the Health Zone. Recommendations on daily energy consumption and information on composition & nutrients in commonly consumed food could be found at Nutrient Information Inquiry of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.