1. Food that is eaten everyday is called diet.
2. Contains all the classes of food in proportional quantities that is
needed by the body.
3. Factors that influence a balanced diet are :
a) Age
b) Sex
- Males need more energy when compared to women
c) Size
- Individuals that are bigger in size require more energy than a small sized person
d) Profession
e) Physical activity
- Humans who carry out outdoor physical activity require more energy than those who
rest at home
f) State of the health
- Human that are recovering from an illness need more protein compared to a healthy
person
g) Climate
- People in colder climates require more energy than people in warmer climates
Excess or deficiency in a class of food can affect the health and cause diseases :
4) Excessive food:
a. excess sugar - tooth decay, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure
b. excess carbohydrates - converted to fat in the body and results in obesity
c. excess fat - deposited in the veins and arteries and can cause heart disease or high blood pressure
d. excess protein - cannot be kept in the body and is broken down to urea, this puts a burden on the liver and the kidney
Deficiency of Food
a. extreme deficiency in carbohydrates and fat cause marasmus and distrupt the growth of the body
b. extreme deficeincy in protein can cause kwashiorkor
c. extreme deficiency in vitamin and mineral salts can bring about diseases that result from a lack of certain class of vitamin or minerals
d. lack of dietary fibre cam bring about constipation.
