Healthy eating and physical activity
Eating healthily and keeping active can help keep you fit, well and increase your life expectancy.
Here's how:
- Reducing your salt intake and not being overweight can help to reduce high blood pressure
- Eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day can help prevent deaths from heart disease and some cancers and also help to reduce high blood pressure
- Reducing your intake of saturated fats (such as fried foods, cakes and biscuits) as these can raise cholesterol levels
- Eating oily fish (such as herring, kippers and mackerel) can help to reduce the risk of a heart attack
- Regular physical activity, even at moderate levels, reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure and obesity
Do you need to lose weight?
Being overweight can make a big difference to your health and the more overweight you are the bigger the problem. Body Mass Index (or BMI) is a measurement used to check if you are a healthy weight for your height. BMI allows for natural variations in body shape. You can measure your BMI at the NHS Choices website.
Speak to your GP if you are concerned about your weight, diet or nutrition.
