Optimal diet selection for university students using integer linear programming

The human diet selection is conducted by choosing the appropriate food items that fulfil the nutritional requirements into the diet formulation. This paper discusses the application of integer linear programming (ILP) to develop the mathematical model of diet selection for students in Universiti Utara Malaysia. The developed model is used to solve the diet problem of the students with lowest possible cost. The ILP model is formulated to select suitable food items, which seeks to minimize the costs under conditions of meeting desired nutrient quantities for a healthy student. The optimal result obtained from the ILP model revealed that the minimum cost of a healthy diet is RM10.50 per day.