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Discover our best healthy recipes, including breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. Find dishes to fit with special diets, from dairy-free to the 5:2.

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Government health initiative

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What is Better Health?

Better Health exists to motivate and enable the nation to lead active and healthy lives. It's there to support and encourage all of us in taking steps to improve our physical and mental health.

Change4Life has now become part of Better Health and has a brand new look.

But don't worry, you will still get everything you got before - from delicious recipes to fun ways to move more, and plenty of other ways and advice to help keep your family healthy and happy.

Why has Change4Life become part of Better Health?

Better Health brings together all of the NHS's tips, tools and apps in one place to help the nation make small, simple changes to kickstart and improve health across a full range of activities.

This new site will continue the good work of Change4Life by ensuring parents have the essential support and tools they need to make healthier choices for their families - from a fun smartphone app to find healthier food swaps, to easy recipes for busy midweek meals, simple snack ideas and Disney-inspired play-along games to keep the kids moving.

We know that modern life can mean we are a lot busier, less active, and more reliant on convenience and fast food than we used to be. But that's where we come in.

We apologise if any of your "go-to" pages are currently missing, and appreciate your patience while we continue to add to and develop an even better website - stay tuned for more!

Our history

Change4Life was launched in 2009 as part of a national ambition set out in the government's Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives (2008). In 2021, it was brought under the Better Health brand.

Its purpose has been to inspire a social movement, through which government, the NHS, local authorities, businesses, charities, schools, families and community leaders can all play a part in improving children's diets and physical activity levels.

Start making healthier changes today!

New to the site? Here are a few things to get you started:

Dietary advice

We are not able to provide individual dietary advice.

If a member of your family has special dietary requirements, medical needs, an eating disorder or requires specialised nutrition advice - for example, if your child is underweight or very overweight - we recommend you seek guidance from a registered healthcare professional.

Contact us

If you have more specific questions or suggestions in mind, email the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities. We would love to hear from you!

If you need help or advice about a medical problem, visit NHS 111 online or call 111 free from any phone.

Better Health local supporters

Visit our Campaign Resource Centre to find everything you need to deliver our award-winning health marketing campaigns on a local level.

National partners

We have a single aim: to motivate and support millions more people to make and sustain changes that will improve their health. It's a big task, and that's why our national partnerships are crucial.

Together, we can deliver more effective campaigns and ensure our public health messages reach the people who will really benefit from them.

We work with major national retailers, household-name brands and major organisations - including commercial brands, government departments and non-governmental organisations - providing them with all the support and materials they need to change health outcomes and help influence people's behaviour across the country.

To find out more about how you can collaborate with us, please see the Campaign Resource Centre's information for national partners.

Do you live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?

Better Health is an England and Wales campaign, but you can use the advice here to start making changes even if you do not live in those areas. There are also helpful sites for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Wales: Living and Feeling Well

Brought to you by NHS 111 Wales, Living and Feeling Well has loads of simple advice for you to improve your health and wellbeing.

Scotland: Eat Better Feel Better

Making healthier choices for you and your family now could not be easier. Eat Better Feel Better can help you make changes to how you shop, cook and eat so you and your family can eat better and feel better.

Northern Ireland: Choose To Live Better

None of us has the perfect body - after all, we come in many different shapes and sizes - but the reality is being overweight can lead to problems that can seriously affect our health.

Choose To Live Better can help you find out if you are overweight and provides top tips on how to make healthier choices in life. These may not change things overnight, but they are a change for the better.

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Better Health exists to motivate and enable the nation to lead active and healthy lives. It's there to support and encourage all of us in taking steps to improve our physical and mental health. Change4Life has now become part of Better Health and has a brand new look.

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How do the requirements change throughout your life?
Consider the stages from Infancy to Late adulthood

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The eatwell guide is a guide to a well balanced diet

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The eatwell guide is a guide to a well balanced diet

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Try creating your own healthy eating meal plans

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Try creating your own healthy eating meal plans

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The Eatwell Guide shows how much of what we eat overall should come from each food group to achieve a healthy, balanced diet.
You do not need to achieve this balance with every meal, but try to get the balance right over a day or even a week.

Most of us still are not eating enough fruit and vegetables. They should make up just over a third of the food we eat each day.

Aim to eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and veg each day. Choose from fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or juiced.

Remember that fruit juice and smoothies should be limited to no more than a combined total of 150ml a day.

Fruit and vegetables are a good source of vitamins, minerals and fibre.
Find out more about how to get your 5 A Day

Starchy food should make up just over a third of the food we eat. Choose higher fibre or wholegrain varieties, such as wholewheat pasta and brown rice, or simply leave the skins on potatoes.

There are also higher fibre versions of white bread and pasta.

Starchy foods are a good source of energy and the main source of a range of nutrients in our diet.
Find out more about starchy foods

These foods are good sources of protein, vitamins and minerals. Pulses, such as beans, peas and lentils, are good alternatives to meat because they're low in fat and they're a good source of fibre and protein, too.

Choose lean cuts of meat and mince, and eat less red and processed meat like bacon, ham and sausages.

Aim for at least 2 portions (2 x 140g) of fish every week, 1 of which should be oily, such as salmon, sardines or mackerel.

Find out about fish and meat.

Milk, cheese, yoghurt and fromage frais are good sources of protein and some vitamins, and they're also an important source of calcium, which helps keep our bones healthy.

Try to go for lower-fat and lower-sugar products where possible, like semi-skimmed, skimmed or 1% fat milk, reduced-fat cheese or plain low-fat yoghurt.
Find out more about milk and dairy foods

Unsaturated fats are healthier fats and include vegetable, rapeseed, olive and sunflower oils.

Remember all types of fat are high in energy and should be eaten in small amounts.
Find out more about the different types of fat in our diet

These foods include chocolate, cakes, biscuits, sugary soft drinks, butter, ghee and ice cream.

They're not needed in our diet, so should be eaten less often and in smaller amounts.
Get tips on cutting down on sugar

Water, lower-fat milks, lower-sugar or sugar-free drinks and tea and coffee all count.

Fruit juice and smoothies also count towards your fluid consumption, but they contain free sugars that can damage teeth, so limit these drinks to a combined total of 150ml a day.
Find out more about water, drinks and your health

How does the Eatwell Guide work?

The Eatwell Guide divides the foods and drinks we consume into 5 main food groups.

Try to choose a variety of different foods from each of the groups to help you get the wide range of nutrients your body needs to stay healthy.

It's important to get some fat in your diet, but foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar have been placed outside of the main Eatwell Guide as they're not necessary as part of a healthy, balanced diet and most of us need to cut down on these.

Unsaturated fats from plant sources (for example, vegetable oil or olive oil) are healthier types of fat.

But all types of fat are high in energy (calories), so they should only be eaten in small amounts.

On average, women should have around 2,000 calories a day (8,400 kilojoules) and men should have around 2,500 calories a day (10,500 kilojoules). We all need different amounts of energy (or calories) from food to be a healthy weight. How much you need depends on lots of things, including how active you are.

Find out how food labels can help you choose between foods and pick those lower in fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt.

Combination foods

Many foods, such as pizzas, casseroles, pasta dishes and sandwiches, are combinations of the food groups in the Eatwell Guide.

With these meals, check the ingredients and think about how these fit with the sections on the guide to help you achieve a balanced diet.

Does the Eatwell Guide apply to everyone?

The Eatwell Guide applies to most of us, whether we're a healthy weight or overweight, whether we eat meat or are vegetarian, and no matter what our ethnic origin.

Anyone with special dietary requirements or medical needs might want to check with a registered dietitian on how to adapt the Eatwell Guide to meet their individual needs.

Children under the age of 2

The Eatwell Guide does not apply to children under the age of 2 because they have different nutritional needs.

Between the ages of 2 and 5, children should gradually move to eating the same foods as the rest of the family in the proportions shown in the Eatwell Guide.

Read more about babies, toddlers and young children's nutritional needs in Your baby's first solid foods.

Download the Eatwell Guide booklet

For more information, including details of which foods are included in the food groups, download GOV.UK's The Eatwell Guide.

Healthy eating support

Food and diet advice on the NHS website includes:

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Read about the interactive Eatwell Guide, which shows how much of what we eat overall should come from each food group to achieve a healthy, balanced diet.