INTRODUCTION

A balanced diet can be defined in quite a few ways. Antoine Lavoisier, who
discovered the concept of nutrition discovered that energy is derived from food due to
its oxidation. Therefore, it is vital that one consumes food that is not only satisfactory
to the taste buds but also to the rest of the body.

Such a diet requires combining certain nutrients and food groups, which include but
are not limited to- fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains, proteins and fats- in a particular
ratio. One method to ensure one is consuming a balanced diet is to use the United
States Department of Agriculture’s “ChooseMyPlate” initiative, which recommends
the following:

 Filling half of one’s plate with fruits and vegetables

 Filling just over one quarter with grains
 Filling just under one quarter with protein foods
 Adding dairy on the side

However, the given guidelines are not only too strict but also very tough to follow.
They are also not catered towards the general population, where the health needs of
each person differs from the other. It is merely one perspective, and while useful as a
base parameter, impractical as well.

Therefore the better guideline to follow is the one given by the NHS. In order to have
a healthy diet, people should try to:

 Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruits and vegetables a day

 Try to base meals on higher fibre, starchy foods (such as potatoes, bread, rice
or pasta)
 Have some dairy or some form of dairy alternatives
 Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat of other protein
 Choose unsaturated oils and spreads wherever possible
 Drink at least 6-8 glasses of water a day

Diet factors also depend on one’s age, height, and body anatomy. The balanced diet
makeup for an infant will be much different from the balanced diet makeup for
someone at the age of 60.

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In India, 70-80% of total dietary calories are derived from carbohydrates present in
plant foods such as cereals, millets and pulses. Half of one’s calories in total should be
derived from carbohydrates. However, there is a greater emphasis given to refined
carbohydrates (hereafter referred to as ‘carbs’) such as white bread, white rice and
refined wheat flour (popularly known as ‘maida’ in India). There are certain healthier
sources that need to be considered such as brown rice, millets, oats, and brown bread-
all of which hold a greater nutrient value.

Fibre, too, forms an important part of one’s diet as it assists in digestion. A person is
supposed to eat their fruits and vegetables, not drink them, in order to derive
maximum nutrients from them.

About 30-35% of one’s diet should constitute protein. Protein is the primary
component of all of one’s body’s cells, as well as hair, skin and soft tissues. One also
burns more calories when digesting proteins than carbs. Therefore it is vital that
protein consumption not fall.

Fats provide energy, store vitamins as well as synthesise hormones. One should
consume about 60 grams of fats per day, fats that are polyunsaturated, monosaturated
and omega- 3 fatty acids. Vegetable oil used in our daily cooking is a major source of
visible fat in our diet, a good blend of oils is always a great suggestion though.
Juggling between butter, ghee, olive oil, mustard oil, soyabean, sesame and groundnut
is a good idea.

Vitamins and minerals are micronutrients that help in supporting metabolism, nerve
and muscle function, bone maintenance and cell production. As minerals are inorganic
materials, they are easily available in plants, meat and fish. Vitamins on the other
hand can be derived from fruits, nuts, oilseeds and green, leafy vegetables. As almost
50% of women in India suffer from anaemia, they require a steady diet of calcium,
Vitamin D, folic acid and iron.

In order to keep one’s body as healthy as possible. A person’s breakfast should be the
heaviest meal of the day, while dinner should be the lightest. There should be at least a
three-hour gap between breakfast and lunch and the same between lunch and tea time.
Dinner should be had around two hours before one goes to sleep to allow to body to
properly digest its contents.

However, this is not the practice followed in India as dinner is usually the heaviest
meal of the day in a variety of households. Therefore, it is very important that there be

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numerous reports to ascertain whether or not Indians partake in having a balanced diet
and whether people are aware of its significance.

The team surveyed 35 people in the area of Bhaijipura, in Gandhinagar and the results
of those surveys are provided in the current report. The survey was carried out in the
form of a questionnaire, which contained questions related to the topic of a balanced
diet.

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 METHODS AND SCOPE OF THE SURVEY

The survey was held in different areas of Bhaijipura. The public areas like market and
crossroads as well as residential area like apartments and housings. Total 35 people
were interviewed. The purpose was to know do people in the area know as well as
follow balanced diet system. The age ranges of people surveyed is 17 to 74 and came
from various economic and social backgrounds from teenage student to retired
professor and laborers to house wives.

The questionnaire was made up of seven questions. There are three members in our
team and one of them is native Gujrati so there was no language barrier while
conducting the survey. The data was collected and manual form and there was
checklist as mentioned in the page of questionnaire, and the statistical findings are
included in the form of bar charts in the part of discussion. The consent of the
respondents was taken before utilising the data in the report.

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 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

According to the World Health Organisation, a healthy diet consumed throughout the
life-course helps in preventing malnutrition in all its forms as well as wide range of
non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and conditions.

National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, under Indian Council for Medical Research
has published “Dietary Guidelines for Indians” which is widely accepted and is
considered as a valuable source of concise, accurate and accessible information. These
guidelines emphasize promotion of health and prevention of disease, of all age groups
with special focus on vulnerable segments of the population such as infants, children
and adolescents, pregnant and lactating women and the elderly.

According to the guidelines, right nutritional behaviour and dietary choices are needed
to achieve dietary goals. A few of the guidelines are as follows:

 Eat variety of foods to ensure a balanced diet: A diet consisting of foods from
several food groups provides all the required nutrients in proper amounts.

 Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits: Vegetables/fruits are rich sources of

micronutrients and they also provide phytonutrients and fibre which are of vital
health significance.

 Ensure moderate use of edible oils and very less use of ghee/ butter/ vanaspati :
Diets that provide excess of calories, fats and cholesterol elevate blood lipids
(cholesterol and triglycerides) and promote blood clotting.

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  Ensure the use of safe and clean foods: Naturally-occurring toxins, environmental
contaminants and adulterants in foods constitute a health hazard and consumption
of unsafe foods can lead to food-borne diseases.

 Minimize the use of processed foods rich in salt, sugar and fats : Processed foods
may not be nutritionally balanced unless fortified and they lack dietary fibre and
micronutrients. Sugar, a processed food, provides empty calories.

A balanced diet is one which provides all the

nutrients in required amounts and proper
proportions. It can easily be achieved through a
blend of the four basic food groups (figure 1.1).
The quantities of foods needed to meet the
nutrient requirements vary with age, gender,
physiological status and physical activity. A
balanced diet should provide around 50-60% of
total calories from carbohydrates, preferably from
complex carbohydrates, about 10-15% from
proteins and 20-30% from both visible and
invisible fat.
Figure 1.1

Certain food components are required for a diet to be called balanced. These
components are as follows:

 Cereals, millets and pulses which are major sources of most nutrients.
 Milk which provides good quality proteins and calcium must be an essential
item of the diet, particularly for infants, children and women.
 Oils and nuts are calorie-rich foods, and are useful for increasing the energy
density and quality of food.
 Eggs, flesh foods and fish enhances the quality of diet
 Vegetables and fruits provide protective substances such as vitamins/ minerals/
phytonutrients.

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Hence, diversified diets with a judicious choice from variety food groups provide the
necessary nutrients for overall growth and development of human body.

These guidelines and data on balanced diet helped us in analysing if the people of
various age groups in Bhaijipura are following the dietary guidelines issued by the
Ministry of Health and whether each age group follows a balanced diet and if yes, up
to what percentage of them actually do.

According to the empirical data collected through survey, the responses from people
from a variety of age groups have been divided into 4 age groups for analytical
convenience as ages 0 to 20; 20 to 40; 40 to 60 and 60 plus.

As per awareness on what constitutes a balance diet, following chart diagram

describes the awareness factor for different age groups:

Figure 1.2
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 to 20 Age Group 20 to 40 Age Group 40 to 60 Age Group 60 Plus Age Group

Awareness about Balanced Diet

It can be observed that, the adolescents and younger generations (aged 0 to 20 and 20
to 40) are more likely to be aware of the components and importance of a balanced
diet which can be accredited to growing ease of access to information and general
awareness among students of such age. At the same time, it is also to be noted that
lesser awareness in adults and senior citizens or lack thereof is to be attributed to lack
of information in their formative years,

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After analysing the responses collected from the people of various age groups,
following bar chart has been created to highlight which of the age groups actually
follow a balanced diet themselves:

Figure 1.3

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 to 20 Age Group 20 to 40 Age Group 40 to 60 Age Group 60 Plus Age Group
Following a Balanced Diet

It can thus be observed that the age group of 0 to 20 and 20 to 40 who are the ones
that are mostly aware of the subject matter lack in actually following the same despite
of knowledge of the benefits of a balanced diet. This shows that knowledge is not
equal to execution or following of the same in one’s daily life.

The dietary guidelines by National Institute of Nutrition also suggest to minimize

consumption of ready- to- eat fast foods, bakery foods and processed foods prepared
in hydrogenated fat. Storage, handling and microbiological contamination are the
major concerns of fast food. Further, they are calorie dense foods.

According to the survey, following is the distribution of age groups and the percentage
of them who consume junk and fast food on a daily or more than thrice a week which
is presented with the help of a bar chart:

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 Figure 1.4
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 to 20 Age Group 20 to 40 Age Group 40 to 60 Age Group 60 Plus Age Group

Eating fast food daily/ >thrice a week

By observing the data presented, we can see that the younger population is consuming
more fast food as compared to the adults and this phenomenon can be attributed to a
lot of factors ranging from cost of the fast-food products to taste and habits of the
individuals and also less availability of healthier alternatives, etc.

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 CONCLUSION
We can conclude from the reported data in the project that as the 20-40 age group possesses
the most awareness in terms of what exactly a balanced diet is. However, as the 0-20 age
group is the second most aware, added to the fact that it encompasses pre schoolers as well as
college students, it can be assumed that the 0-20 age group is almost as, if not more aware
than the 20-4 age group surveyed.

This therefore leads to the idea that awareness of the meaning of a balanced and nutritious
diet is increasing, and that every generation is more aware than the last, a positive outcome of
the research. The reverse can be seen to be true though, when it comes to actually following a
balanced diet. Awareness about the contents of a balanced diet is not useful unless one
practices what they preach.

It can be seen in the report that almost 80 percent of those above the age of 60 follow a
balanced diet, often without having knowledge of what a balanced diet even is. This can be
attributed to either social factors, or their own development where there was a lack of mass
availability of fast food, as well as healthy food being cheaper. It costs less to buy a packet of
chips than it does to buy two bananas. The need to cook fruits and vegetables in order to
consume them properly is a factor to why younger people of working age choose foods that
they know to be unhealthy. Not only does everyone not know how to cook, but a lot of
working class people simply do not have any time. They are either simply too exhausted, or
too loaded with their boss’ needs.

It can thus be ascertained that it is a combination of habits, custom, convenience and

awareness, with the former three having more weightage on people’s tendencies to follow a
balanced diet. We can therefore conclude that the need for ensuring people actually use a
balanced nutrition plan is more vital than just spreading awareness about the topic.

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 RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Fast food can be substituted for healthier alternative.
Most of the responses we got in the survey was respondents that eat fast food often prefer
street food like panipuri, dabeli and vadapav. This is usually in range of 20-50 rupees. Instead
of that fruits like orange, apple and banana can be purchased for same amount.

2. Giving priority to breakfast.

Majority of respondents were either skipping breakfast or not having tea and very light
breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and should be treated accordingly.
for ideal breakfast there are 3 components. These three components are:

 Carbohydrates
 Proteins
 Nuts
the best suggestion to inculcate carbohydrates in your breakfast are: whole grain bread or roti,
oats, wheat flakes or corn flakes. For proteins you can have egg, milk and sprouts. Nuts like
Almond, cashew and figs should also be taken.

3. Adding more protein to dinner.

Most of the respondent lacked proper protein intake in their dinner. It is mostly starch
based. There should be more green and leafy vegetables to load up on vitamins and
minerals. Carbs should be Limited but not cut off.

4. Increasing milk intake in the diet.

Respondents consume milk in the form of tea in morning and evening. Most of the
respondent being vegetarian milk is one of the few sources of B12. Ideally, they should
have one to two glasses of milk.

5. Not skipping a meal.

We all have busy and hectic schedule and it can be overwhelming but tendency
among young people to just drink coffee/tea and skipping the meal is prevalent. As
mentioned above breakfast is the most important meal. They substitute skipping neal
with fast food which is basically empty calory.

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 SURVEY QUESTIONS

1. What is your name?

2. What is your age?

3. What is your occupation?

4. How many meals you take in a day?

5. Checklist
Sr.no daily Weekly Occasionally never
1 Fruits
2 Eggs/Meat
3 Leafy Vegetables
4 Milk
5 Rice
6 Beans/protein
7 Dry Fruits

6. How often do you eat fast food?

7. Do you know what is the balanced diet

8. Do you feel like that you follow it?

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