healthy eating

For infants and young children

During the first two years of a child's life, optimal nutrition promotes healthy growth and improves cognitive development. It also reduces the risk of overweight, obesity or NCDs at a later stage in life.

The tips for a healthy diet in infants and children are the same as for adults, adding the following important elements:

• infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life.
• breastfeeding should be continued continuously until the age of two and beyond.
• From the age of six months, breast milk must be supplemented with varied, suitable, safe and nutrient-rich foods. Salt and sugar should not be added to complementary foods.

Practical tips for healthy eating

Fruits and vegetables

Consuming at least 400 g, or five servings, of fruits and vegetables per day reduces the risk of noncommunicable diseases ( 2 ) and helps ensure a sufficient daily intake of dietary fiber.

Here are some ways to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables:

• eat vegetables at all meals;
• eat fresh fruit and raw vegetables as a snack;
• eat fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables; and
• diversify the fruits and vegetables consumed.

Fats

Reducing total fat intake to less than 30% of total energy intake allows adults to avoid gaining too much weight ( 1,2,3 ).

In addition, the risk of developing noncommunicable diseases decreases by adopting the following behaviors:

• reduction of saturated fat to less than 10% of total energy intake;
• reduction of saturated fatty acids to less than 1% of total energy intake; and
• replacement of saturated fats and trans fatty acids with unsaturated fats ( 2,3 ), in particular with polyunsaturated fats.

It is possible to reduce the intake of fats, in particular industrial trans fatty acids, by doing the following:

• steam or boil rather than fry food;
• replace butter, lard and clarified butter with oils rich in polyunsaturated fats such as soybean, rapeseed, corn, safflower or sunflower oil;
• eat low-fat dairy products and lean meat, or remove visible fat from meat; and
• limit consumption of baked and fried foods, as well as snacks and prepackaged foods (for example donuts, cakes, pies, cookies, cookies and waffles) that contain fatty acids industrial trans.

Salt, sodium and potassium

Most people have excessive sodium intake due to salt intake (on average 9 g to 12 g salt per day) and insufficient potassium intake (less than 3.5 g). This contributes to high blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease and stroke ( 8, 11 ).

Each year, 1.7 million deaths could be prevented by reducing salt intake to reach the recommended level of less than 5 g per day ( 12 ).

Often people are unaware of the amount of salt they are consuming. In many countries, most salt comes from processed foods (for example, ready meals, processed meats such as bacon, ham or sausage, cheeses, and savory snacks) or foods frequently consumed in large quantities (for example bread). Salt is also added during cooking (for example in the form of broth or bouillon-cube, soy sauce and fish sauce) or at the table (table salt).

Salt consumption can be limited by adopting the following strategies:

• limit the amount of salt and condiments with a high sodium content (for example soy sauce, fish sauce and broth) added during cooking and food preparation;
• do not put salt or high sodium sauces on the table;
• limit consumption of savory snacks; and
• choose products with low salt content.

Some manufacturers reformulate recipes to reduce the salt content in their products, and it is useful to check the labels to check the sodium content of a product before buying and eating it.

You can increase potassium intake, which can reduce the negative effects of high salt intake on blood pressure, by eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

Sugars

In adults as in children, the consumption of free sugars should not exceed 10% of the total energy intake ( 2,7 ). Falling below 5% of total energy intake would increase health benefits ( 7 ).

Consumption of free sugars increases the risk of tooth decay. The excess calories consumed in foods and drinks rich in free sugars also contributes to unhealthy weight gain, which can lead to overweight or obesity. The latest evidence also shows that free sugars have an effect on blood pressure and serum lipids, and suggests that a reduction in the consumption of free sugars reduces risk factors for cardiovascular disease ( 13 ).

The consumption of sugars can be limited by adopting the following strategies:

• limit the consumption of foods and drinks with a high sugar content, for example sugary snacks, candies and sugary drinks (i.e. all types of drinks containing free sugars, i.e. soft drinks, non-carbonated drinks, fruit or vegetable juices, liquid or powdered concentrates, flavored waters, energy and sports drinks, ready-to-drink tea and coffee,
• snack on fresh fruit and raw vegetables rather than sweet snacks.

How to promote healthy eating

Food changes over time and is influenced by many social and economic factors that combine in complex ways to shape the eating habits of each person. These factors include income, the price of food (which determines the availability and availability of healthy food), individual preferences and beliefs, cultural traditions, as well as geographic and environmental aspects (including climate changes). Therefore, the promotion of a healthy food environment - including systems that promote a diversified, balanced and healthy diet - requires the participation of multiple sectors and stakeholders, including government and the public and private sectors.

Governments have a central role to play in creating a healthy food environment that allows people to adopt and maintain healthy eating practices.

The effective steps that policy makers can take to create a healthy food environment are:

• establish consistency in national policies and investment plans, in particular in trade, food and agricultural policies, to promote healthy food and protect public health:

• strengthening measures to encourage producers and sellers to grow, use and sell fresh fruit and vegetables,
• reducing the incentives for the food industry to continue or increase the production of processed foods with a high content of saturated fat, trans fatty acids, free sugars and salt / sodium,