4th Nov '25

Unbalanced Diet

A healthy diet contains the right balance of the different foods you need and the right amount of energy.

A person is if their diet is not balanced. This may lead to diseases, in which people do not get enough of a certain food group or a particular vitamin. For example if they do not consume enough then they will be unable to grow and repair cells. In a child this could lead to stunted growth.

Some people in the world suffer from health problems linked to lack of food. These include:

If the amount of energy consumed compaired to the amount of energy used is unbalanced this may lead to a person being too fat or too thin. We get energy from and . Any extra energy that in the body is converted into and as fat.

The rate at which all the chemical reactions in the cells of the body are carried out is called the ' rate'. This is the rate (speed) at which you use energy in your body.

There is a base level which is simply the energy required to stay alive, this is known as the 'Basal Metabolic Rate'. Anything that you do more than that, requires more and so your overall metabolic rate varies with the amount of you do. It also varies on the proportion of to fat in your body and may be affected by factors. This is why some people can eat lots of food and still be slim - it also probably means they are eating the right type / balance of foods.

People who exercise regularly are usually than people who take little exercise. If you exercise your metabolic rate stays high for some time after you have finished. The government recommends '30 mins of exercise 5 times a week' to help keep metabolisms .

The less exercise you take and the warmer it is or the older you are, the energy you need from your food ie you need to eat less. Generally women need less energy than mean because they are generally smaller.

There are always exceptions to these trends and you need to asses each individual's requirements.

In the world too much food and too little exercise are leading to high levels of and the diseases linked to excess weight:

To lose weight a person can reduce the energy content of the food consumed and increase the amount of energy expended by the body through exercise. In the exam you will need to be able to evaluate claims made by slimming programmes.

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