Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (C560): Diet and good health (Area 3) overview

Area 3 of Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (specification C560) takes the nutrition science of Area 2 and applies it to real, healthy eating. Diet and good health is about balanced diets, the life stages, diet-related conditions and special diets. This page maps the area and links to a focused answer page for each part.

The diet and good health content

The Eatwell Guide and dietary guidelines

The five food groups in their healthy proportions, the 8 tips for healthy eating, reference intakes, and the salt and free-sugar limits. See Eatwell and dietary guidelines.

Nutritional needs through life

How needs change for babies, children, teenagers, adults, the elderly and during pregnancy, and how to plan meals for each. See Nutritional needs through life.

Diet-related health

Obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, tooth decay, osteoporosis, anaemia and bowel health, and the changes that reduce the risk. See Diet-related health.

Special diets

Vegetarian and vegan diets, religious and cultural choices, and medical needs (coeliac disease, lactose intolerance, allergies, diabetes), and how to adapt recipes. See Special diets.

This area builds directly on the principles of nutrition.

How this topic is examined

Diet and good health is assessed on the written paper (Component 1), which is 1 hour 45 minutes, worth 100 marks and 50% of the GCSE. Questions range from short structured answers and small calculations (percentages of reference intakes, salt and sugar limits) to extended responses that ask you to plan or evaluate a diet for a named person or need.

How to study the diet and good health topic

1. Learn the Eatwell Guide. Know the five groups, their proportions and the foods to eat less often.
2. Know the limits. Salt no more than 6 g a day, and the free-sugar limit, plus the 8 tips for healthy eating.
3. Link condition to cause and cure. For each diet-related condition, learn the nutrient, the mechanism and a realistic change.
4. Plan by life stage. Be ready to plan a balanced meal for a baby, teenager, elderly person or pregnant woman.
5. Apply, do not list. Answer in the context the question gives, naming foods and changes that fit the person.

For the official specification

Eduqas publishes the full specification (C560), past papers and mark schemes at eduqas.co.uk. Always revise from the current specification and Eduqas's own past papers, because question style is board-specific.