Eating a healthy, balanced diet plays an essential role in maintaining a healthy weight, which is an important part of overall good health. Being overweight or obese can lead to health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, heart disease and stroke. Being underweight can also affect your health.

Eating healthily doesn’t need to be complicated. A diet based on starchy foods such as potatoes, rice and pasta, with plenty of fruit and vegetables, some protein-rich foods such as meat, fish and lentils, some milk and dairy foods and not too much fat, salt or sugar, will give you all the nutrients you need. When it comes to a healthy diet, balance is the key to getting it right. This means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions, and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

The key to a healthy diet is to do the following:

If you're worried about your weight, ask your GP or a dietician for advice.

For more ideas, tips and advice on health eating visit www.nhs.uk/LiveWell/Goodfood