Canada's Health Department issued the new Canada Food Guide Monday, the first update to the guide in more than 14 years.

The new guide accounts for age and gender differences in its recommendations and emphasizes the importance of combining regular physical activity with healthy eating, both for the first time in its 65 years' history.

It encourages eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and recommends limiting foods high in calories, fat, sugar and salt.

It accounts for the different caloric intakes of men and women, as the previous guide did not, and provides clear advice on portion sizes.

In another first, it also includes more culturally relevant foods from a variety of ethnic cuisines.

Health Minister Tony Clement says the new guide provides "the best, most current information available for eating well and living healthy," and its recommendations are consistent with the latest evidence linking a healthy diet to a reduced risk of chronic diseases.

A new, interactive Web component, "My Food Guide," on the Health Canada website helps users personalize the Food Guide information according to their age, sex and food preferences.

The Canada Food Guide was first published during the Second World War. Since 1942, it has been transformed many times.

This latest guide cost 1.5 million Canadian dollars (1.3 million U.S. dollars) and nearly two years to develop, and used input from advisory committees that included dietitians, physicians, food industry representatives and other stakeholders.

Source: Xinhua