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The shape of the Food Pyramid shows the types of foods and drinks people need to eat most for healthy eating. It is divided into six shelves and each provides you with the range of nutrients and energy needed for good health. Healthy eating is all about choosing the right amounts from each shelf.

Many of the foods you eat, such as pizzas, casseroles, pasta dishes and sandwiches, are a combination of the food shelves. For these sorts of foods, you just need to work out the main ingredients and think about how these fit with shelves on the Food Pyramid.

This Food Pyramid guide is for children aged 5 and over, teenagers and all adults, both healthy weight and overweight. As two out of three Irish adults are overweight there is a list of top tips to help overweight adults get to a healthy weight on the back page.

Following the Food Pyramid doesn’t mean that you need to achieve this balance with every meal, but aim to get the balance right over the day and over the week. Small changes can make a big difference.

You may be surprised by the amount of servings you can have from this shelf. It may seem like a lot but these wholemeal foods are healthy choices and are recommended to give you energy instead of choosing unhealthy high calorie foods and drinks from the Top Shelf.

This is the smallest shelf and is at the top of the Food Pyramid so people need to choose very little of these – not every day, maximum once or twice a week only. They are not needed for health and may promote overweight and obesity.