YOUR DIET VARIETY INDEX

Food variety and our health are related. With very few foods in our diet the chances of deficiencies of vitamins & minerals or food intolerances increases. To establish your Diet Variety Index print off the TABLE A and tick the foods you eat as follows:

Tick the column headed R if you eat the food regularly, every day or every week.

Tick the column headed O if you only eat this food occosionally, but at least twice a year.

Tick the column marked S if you eat the food regularly when in season or you can't decide between R and O

Leave the columns blank if you don't eat the food at all or less than twice a year.

When you have completed the table add up the three columns. Total of R= R total, Total of S=S total and Total of O=O total

To calculate your Diet Variety Index

Do the following sum:-

0.5 x R total + 0.3 x S total + 0.1 x O total = Weighted Diet Variety Index

E.g. Total R is 30, Total S is 40 and Total O is 35

WDVI= 0.5 x 30 + 0.3 x 40 + 0.1 x 35

=15+12 +3.5 =31 (to nearest whole percentage)

Read off TABLE B what your diet variety is in relation to UK average.