Dietary needs vary according to many factors such as age, activity, gender and physiological state. Not only the amount of calories but also the intake of nutrients must be personalized. Thus, special attention should be paid to diets for:

Children

Healthy dietary habits for children must be inculcated from the first day the child begins to eat a variety of foods. Taste can be trained. By personal example and persistence, children can be taught to enjoy a healthy variety of foods.

Special nutritional needs are related to growth, and result in an increased need for vitamins and minerals — especially calcium. During the early years, much energy is taken from carbohydrates. Make sure a wide variety of foods, especially those rich in calcium, are eaten.

Daily physical exercise will improve appetite and general condition.

Teenagers

As the child grows into adolescence, dietary habits are harder to control. Youngsters socialize more and are linked together by the same taste in clothes, their likes and dislikes and even their eating habits. Teen diets tend to include more and more junk foods and snacks. That is why a sound education is essential, so that eating healthily become a trend. Acquired habits, once installed, might create dependency. They play a vital role.

It is important to increase calcium intake and also intake of vitamins, especially vitamins A and D, and minerals from fruit and vegetables. Almost half of the bone mass is formed mainly during adolescence. A wide range of foods will ensure a complex intake of nutrients.

Physical exercise will help a great deal and will definitely have better effects on health than watching TV.

Old People

As you age, your body changes continuously. It needs an appropriate change of diet. The loss of muscle tissue and reduced physical activity means that the body needs fewer calories. The decrease in calories, however, must not trigger a decrease in the intake of essential nutrients. Supplementary vitamins, minerals and calcium are needed because of the general state of fatigue. In old age the risk of disease increases. This is especially true for osteoporosis, coronary disease and diabetes.The ageing body needs reinforcement.

Often, the body can no longer naturally absorb vitamins from food, so the need for a vitamin supplement appears, particularily for vitamins B12, to ensure the health of blood and nerves, calcium, but no more than 2,500mg a day, plus vitamin D, for iron to ensure healthy red blood cells and vitamin B6 for the formation of red blood cells.

Energy and Nutritional Needs Depend on Gender and Activity

For adults, the calorie need increases from women with a sedentary lifestyle to men who regularly exercise intensively. The necessary amount of calories also varies with body weight and metabolism. Sedentary women need approximately 1,500 calories a day while very active women need 2,000. The equivalent range for men is from 2,000 (sedentary) to 2,700 calories.

Women

A series of biological factors creates special needs for women. Thus, increased amounts of calcium and iron are needed. Women are exposed to a greater risk of osteoporosis than men. They must build up stores of calcium in bones especially up to the ages of 30-35 when bones are still growing and consolidating. Calcium is lost as age increases.

Women tend to have higher cholesterol levels.This is apparently related to their high levels of estrogen. A diet poor in saturated fat and cholesterol is recommended, mainly to reduce the consumption of animal products.

Fat constitutes a risk factor for women not only from the point of view of cholesterol level. A clear connection has been established between breast cancer risk and fat consumption. It is recommended that 30%, neither more nor less, of total calories derive from fat such as vegetable fat, especially olive oil, and fish oil.

Pregnancy requires supplementary calories, from 2,500 to 2,700 a day, and nutrients in order to maintain the health of both mother and baby. Moreover, a pregnancy diet should start even before pregnancy, to prepare the body for extra strain. Women planning to have a child should store folic acid before they become pregnant. During pregnancy it is essential that they increase their intake of vitamins and minerals.

A healthy diet for all categories of people is characterized by eating the widest variety of foods possible, from all food groups, which cover all the essential nutrients, and by creating a personal exercise routine. Cooking should preserve in as far as possible the natural qualities of fresh food. Broil or bake food rather than fry or fry in deep fat. Steam or boil vegetables in as little water as possible.