Fatty and sugary foods

Includes	Margarine, low fat spread, butter, other spreading fats, cooking oils, oily salad dressings or mayonnaise, cream, chocolate, crisps, biscuits, pastries, cake, puddings, ice- cream, rich sauces and fatty gravies, sweets and sugar.
Nutrients	Some vitamins and essential fatty acids but also a lot of fat, sugar and salt
How much	Eat fatty and sugary foods sparingly - that is, infrequently and/or in small amounts.
Try to eat	Some foods from this group will be eaten every day, but should be kept to small amounts. (e.g. margarine, low fat spread, butter, other spreading fats, cooking oils, oily salad dressings or mayonnaise) Other foods from this group are occasional foods. (e.g. cream, chocolate, crisps, biscuits, pastries, cake, puddings, ice-cream, rich sauces and fatty gravies, sweets and sugar)

How much do we need

The amout of calories that we require will vary from one individual to another but the proportions of food from the different groups should remain the same.

The factors that affect people's daily energy requirements are:

• Gender - women tend to need less calories than men

• Age - older adults need less calories than adolescents and young adults

• Overweight - being heavier than their ideal weight means less calories is required to achieve a healthy weight

• Physically active - the more active a person is, the greater their calorie needs

Vitamin and mineral supplements

You can get all the vitamin and minerals your body requires each day by having a variety of foods in your diet.

Women who are already or planning to become pregnant may need additional folic acid and/or iron and elderly people may need extra Vitamin D and/or iron. Your doctor will be able to advise if you require additional Vitamin and mineral supplements.