Most people should be eating more fish, but there are recommended limits for some types of fish. Find out more about fish and shellfish. You need some fat in your diet, but it's important to pay attention to the amount and type of fat you're eating. There are 2 main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated.

Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease.

On average, men should have no more than 30g of saturated fat a day. On average, women should have no more than 20g of saturated fat a day.

Children under the age of 11 should have less saturated fat than adults, but a low-fat diet is not suitable for children under 5.

Try to eat less saturated fat and choose foods that contain unsaturated fats instead, such as vegetable oils and spreads, oily fish and avocados. For a healthier choice, use a small amount of vegetable or olive oil, or reduced-fat spread instead of butter, lard or ghee.

All types of fat are high in energy, so they should only be eaten in small amounts. Regularly consuming foods and drinks high in sugar increases your risk of obesity and tooth decay. Sugary foods and drinks are often high in energy measured in kilojoules or calories , and if consumed too often can contribute to weight gain.

They can also cause tooth decay, especially if eaten between meals. Free sugars are any sugars added to foods or drinks, or found naturally in honey, syrups and unsweetened fruit juices and smoothies. This is the type of sugar you should be cutting down on, rather than the sugar found in fruit and milk.

Many packaged foods and drinks contain surprisingly high amounts of free sugars. Food labels can help. Use them to check how much sugar foods contain.

More than Find out how to cut down on sugar in your diet. Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure. People with high blood pressure are more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke. Even if you do not add salt to your food, you may still be eating too much.

About three-quarters of the salt you eat is already in the food when you buy it, such as breakfast cereals, soups, breads and sauces. Use food labels to help you cut down. More than 1. Adults and children aged 11 and over should eat no more than 6g of salt about a teaspoonful a day.

Younger children should have even less. Get tips for a lower salt diet. As well as eating healthily, regular exercise may help reduce your risk of getting serious health conditions. It's also important for your overall health and wellbeing. Read more about the benefits of exercise and physical activity guidelines for adults.

Being overweight or obese can lead to health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, heart disease and stroke. Being underweight could also affect your health.

If you're trying to lose weight, aim to eat less and be more active. Eating a healthy, balanced diet can help you maintain a healthy weight. Check whether you're a healthy weight by using the BMI healthy weight calculator. Lose weight with the NHS weight loss plan , a week weight loss guide that combines advice on healthier eating and physical activity.

If you're underweight, see underweight adults. If you're worried about your weight, ask your GP or a dietitian for advice. You need to drink plenty of fluids to stop you getting dehydrated.

The government recommends drinking 6 to 8 glasses every day. This is in addition to the fluid you get from the food you eat. All non-alcoholic drinks count, but water, lower fat milk and lower sugar drinks, including tea and coffee, are healthier choices.

Try to avoid sugary soft and fizzy drinks, as they're high in calories. They're also bad for your teeth. Your combined total of drinks from fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies should not be more than ml a day, which is a small glass. Some people skip breakfast because they think it'll help them lose weight.

But a healthy breakfast high in fibre and low in fat, sugar and salt can form part of a balanced diet, and can help you get the nutrients you need for good health. A wholegrain lower sugar cereal with semi-skimmed milk and fruit sliced over the top is a tasty and healthier breakfast.

These changes may spark a desire for tasty foods. Being aware of food portion size, the kinds of foods and beverages you consume, and how often you have them may be a step to help you make healthier food choices.

Visit MyPlate. gov to learn more about what kinds of food and drinks to consume and what kinds to limit so you can have a healthy eating plan. Consume more nutrient-rich foods. Nutrients —like vitamins , minerals , and dietary fiber —nourish our bodies by giving them what they need to be healthy.

Adults are encouraged to consume some of the following foods and beverages that are rich in nutrients. Consume less of these foods and beverages. Some foods and beverages have many calories but few of the essential nutrients your body needs.

Added sugars and solid fats pack a lot of calories into food and beverages but provide a limited amount of healthy nutrients. Salt does not contain calories, but it tends to be in high-calorie foods.

Adults should aim to limit foods and drinks such as. How much you should consume each day depends on your weight, sex, age, metabolism , and how active you are. In general, men need more calories than women. Younger adults need more calories than adults in midlife and older.

At all ages, adults who get more physical activity need more calories than those who are less active. Keeping your food and beverage portions in check may help you reach or stay at a healthy weight.

To learn more about a healthy eating plan and the amounts of food and beverages that are right for you, visit MyPlate. Talk with your health care provider about what a healthy weight is for you.

If you are overweight or have obesity, your health care professional may recommend weight loss. Consider getting help through a structured weight loss program.

Experts recommend beginning with a weight loss of 5 to 10 percent of your starting weight over a period of 6 months. Modest weight loss has been shown to improve health, and it may bring you other benefits such as better mood and more energy.

Use a diary to track the foods and beverages you consume. Keep a food and beverage diary that lists everything you consume in a day.

The diary helps you. More adults are using different ways to track health habits, including what and how much they eat and drink, sleep, and weigh. Using apps on mobile phones, tablets, and other devices has become a popular way to track and improve health.

These apps have many features. If you are interested, look for apps that best fit your health goals and lifestyle habits. If you prefer keeping a written diary, check out the sample food and beverage diary below. It includes a section for writing down what the time was and what your feelings were when you consumed the food or beverage.

Writing down your feelings may help you identify your eating triggers. For example, you may notice that you sometimes overeat when you are with a big group, simply because everyone around you is consuming large amounts of food and beverages. The next time you share a meal with a group, think about your triggers and try to limit how much you consume by eating more slowly.

Ideas to support your weight-loss efforts. In addition to keeping a diary, focusing on behaviors related to your eating and physical activity level can help jump-start your weight-loss efforts. It can also help you maintain weight loss for the long term. These ideas may help you lose weight.

Experts recommend PDF, You can gain some health benefits if you sit less and do any amount of physical activity. Learn more about the benefits of getting more active. Once you are more active, keep it up with regular activities. That will improve your health even more. Studies suggest that, over time, physical activity can help you live a longer, healthier life.

It may. Aerobic activity. Aerobic activities —also called endurance or cardio activities—use your large muscle groups chest, legs, and back to speed up your heart rate and breathing.

Aerobics can be moderate or vigorous. How can you tell what level your activity is? Start with moderate-intensity activities and then work up to vigorous-intensity activities to avoid injuries.

Choose aerobic activities that are fun for you. Try getting a friend, family member, or coworker to join you. That may help you enjoy activity and stick with it.

Muscle-strengthening activity. Strength training or resistance training works your muscles by making you push or pull against something—a wall or floor, hand-held weights, an exercise bar, exercise bands, or even soup cans. Experts recommend at least minutes a week a total of 2 ½ hours of moderate-intensity aerobic activity.

You can spread your activity throughout the week—whatever works best for you. Studies show that if you spread activity across at least 3 days a week, you can improve your health, reduce your risk of injury, and keep yourself from becoming too tired.

If you increase your aerobic activity to minutes a week—instead of the recommended minutes—you may even lower your risk for heart disease or type 2 diabetes. Additionally, if you do more than minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, you may even reduce your risk for several cancers.

You should also aim for at least 2 days a week of muscle-strengthening activities. To avoid injury, allow at least 1 day of rest for your muscles to recover and rebuild before working the same muscle groups again.

You don't have to be an athlete to benefit from regular physical activity. Even modest amounts of physical activity can improve your health.

If you have been inactive for a while PDF, For example, you could start by walking 5 minutes at a time, several times a day, 5 to 6 days a week. You could gradually increase your time to 10 minutes per session, 3 times a day, and slowly increase your walking speed.

Building up slowly lets you work up to more intense activity without getting hurt. Be sure to increase your muscle-strengthening activities gradually. Start out 1 day a week at a light or moderate intensity. Over time, increase to 2 days a week, and then possibly to more than 2 days.

Increase the intensity until it becomes moderate or greater. Make a plan to stay on track. You may want to try the Move Your Way interactive activity planner that lets you set your own weekly goals, choose the activities you want to do, and get personalized tips to help you stay motivated.

You can keep an activity log to track your progress, such as the sample log below or an app on your mobile device.

After you do an activity, write down how you were feeling while you were active.