Healthful eating is the act of following a balanced nutritional diet. Because our ideas of what counts as "healthful" change according to scientific advances in the field of nutrition, along with personal and cultural considerations, accepted standards of healthful eating differ from person to person and through history.

Many governments and other organisations provide nutritional advice and launch schemes in order to promote healthful eating. Diets which lead to obesity (being severely overweight), diabetes, and other medical conditions are a severe drain of resources for national health providers and on businesses due to reduced productivity in staff.

A recent health campaign by the British government has attempted to impress the need to eat lots of fruit and vegetables using the slogan "5 a day". Adverts have given examples of what a portion of fruit or vegetables amounts to, and how 5 or more portions can be incorporated into one's diet.

Governments also put pressure on businesses to promote healthful food options, and regularly consider measures such as banning the advertising of fast food or taxing foods which are high in fat.

See also

• Food pyramid
• Healthy eating pyramid
• Orthorexia nervosa - an obsession with healthful eating

External links

• Mediterranean and Asian diet for healthy living