The goal of the diet problem is to find the cheapest combination of foods that will satisfy all the daily nutritional requirements of a person. The problem is formulated as a linear program where the objective is to minimize cost and meet constraints which require that nutritional needs be satisfied. We include constraints that regulate the number of calories and amounts of vitamins, minerals, fats, sodium and cholesterol in the diet.
The mathematical formulation is simple, but you will find out by running the model that people do not actually choose their menus by solving this model. Our nutritional requirements can be met yet our concerns for taste and variety go unheeded. We would never drink gallons of vinegar nor include a few boullion cubes in our meals; however, such "optimal" menus have been created using this model. Read more about the history of the diet problem for more interesting facts.
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The nutrition information was obtained from US Department of Agriculture .
The pie charts are created using routines from the gd
1.2 library.
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