Department of Resource Management and Consumer Studies Faculty of Human Ecology Universiti Putra Malaysia FEM 3202 (Nutrition, Health and Environment)
Assignment 1 (INDIVIDUAL): Dietary guidelines
Objectives: 1. 2. 3. 4.
To understand the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines (MDG). To use the MDG as a guide in healthy eating. To develop the menu based on the Malaysian Food Pyramid in the MDG. To calculate the energy requirement of the developed menu based on the MDG.
Introduction: The Malaysian Dietary Guidelines (MDG) (NCCFN, 2010) was developed to provide guidance on how to promote healthy eating and practice an active lifestyle among the Malaysian population. The guidelines are generally based on the amount of nutrients and energy needed by each individual through a healthy diet. A healthy diet usually refers to a diet that provides adequate nutrients and energy (NCCFN, 2010) for the daily needs of individuals. There are four characteristics that describe a healthy diet, namely, adequate, balanced, moderate, and varied (NCCFN, 2010). In addition, the dietary recommendation also encourages people to protect themselves from chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and some types of cancer. It is very important that an individual ensures getting appropriate foods and incorporates the good nutrition principle, such as variety, adequate, balanced and moderation. As different foods provide different combinations of energy and nutrients, the best way to meet the daily requirements is to eat a variety of diet. In MDG, the Malaysian Food Pyramid (Figure 1) was included in Key Message 1 with six groups of food namely: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)
Rice, noodle, bread, cereals, cereal products and tubers. Fruits Vegetables Fish, poultry, meat and legumes Milk and milk products Fats, oil, sugar and salt.
Figure 1: Malaysian Food Pyramid
The number of serving recommended for each food group are between 4-8 servings (rice, noodle, bread, cereals, cereal products and tubers) to ½ to 1 serving (legumes) depending on the caloric requirement per day. The energy requirement ranged between 1500 to 2500 kcal/day.
Procedure: 1. Referred to the attached Appendix (Table 1.2), you need to develop THREE (3) one day menu based on the calories of 1500 kcal, 2000 kcal and 2500kcal. For each menu, it should follow the table below:
Table 1: Menu for 1500/2000/2500 kcal/day Food Breakfast - Cereals and -
grains Fruits Vegetables Meat/poultry Fish Legumes Milk and dairy products
Lunch - Cereals and -
grains Fruits Vegetables Meat/poultry Fish Legumes Milk and dairy products
Tea-time - Cereals and -
grains Fruits Vegetables Meat/poultry Fish Legumes Milk and dairy products
Dinner - Cereals and -
grains Fruits Vegetables Meat/poultry Fish Legumes Milk and dairy products
Serving size
Weight (g) Calorie (Kcal)
2. After you develop the menu, you need to calculate the weight of the foods in your menu based on the Appendix 2. 3. Then, you need to calculate the energy of your menus based on this website: http://www.nutriweb.org.my/searchfood.php 4. Fill up the table with the weight and energy value (caloric value) of each food on your menus. 5. Write a short report (5 pages) on how good is your developed menus to encourage healthy eating habit in your family members. 6. The marks are based on the:
Introduction: 5% Results: 10% Discussion: 10% References: 5% Appendix (Table): 10%
Due date for assignment 1 is on WEEK 6.
