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Minister of State for Health Promotion, Marcella Corcoran Kennedy TD, today launched “Healthy Food for Life", the new Healthy Eating Guidelines and Food Pyramid under the aegis of Healthy Ireland.

Healthy Food for Life provides a suite of national healthy eating guidelines for the general population. Their aim is to provide a balanced diet which is crucial in maintaining a healthy weight as well as encouraging positive lifestyles generally.

Speaking at the launch of the guidelines, the Minister said “This new suite of resources will provide very useful practical nutrition advice for the population, healthcare professionals and for those working in other sectors such as education, social protection and industry. As a country, many of us do not have a balanced diet for a variety of reasons and my first priority is to make this nutrition advice available for the population.”

Irish adult and childhood nutrition surveys over the past ten years show that eating habits are not consistent with optimal health. As a country, we are consuming too many foods and beverages that are high in sugar, fat and salt and not enough fruit and vegetables. This has contributed to the high levels of overweight and obesity in both adults and children which in turn increases the risk of chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Minister Corcoran Kennedy added, “At the launch of the Obesity Policy, I announced a range of actions and “A Healthy Food for Life” is the first of these. Today’s launch provides a suite of resources for dieticians, health professionals and teachers. In the months ahead, we will provide additional training resources for healthy eating. We need to place a greater emphasis on prevention and a healthy diet is essential for better health and wellbeing”.

Overweight and obesity can be prevented by a balanced diet and being physically active. These new guidelines reflect best international evidence and national advice by organisations working in nutrition in Ireland. The focus is on prevention and showing how individuals can combine foods in a variety of flexible ways to achieve a balanced healthy diet to meet individual health needs, dietary preferences and cultural traditions. They describe how to build a healthy diet, for different age groups from 5 years of age, depending on gender.

The key messages are:

• Limit high fat, sugar and salt foods from the top shelf of the Pyramid to no more than once or twice a week 
• Eat more fruit and vegetables, up to 7 servings a day. This is now the largest shelf of the Pyramid 
• Use the Pyramid as a guide for serving sizes. Portion size matters for counting calories 
• Guidance for losing weight and for individuals who are not physically active

In addition, the guidelines now include daily meal plans for children and adults as well as a range of information sheets on different parts of the food Pyramid.