The number two preventable cause of
death in the U.S. is obesity, affecting two thirds of adults and one in three
children. The need for an easily
interpreted guide to aid Americans in making healthier food choices is
apparent, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recent change from the
MyPyramid icon to the simpler MyPlate takes a step in that direction.
In 1992, the USDA, supported by the
Department of Health and Human Services, developed the original Food Guide
Pyramid based on research done because of the concern of the high amounts of
fats in American’s diets. The
Image was in the shape of a pyramid and ranked food groups from bottom to top
based on nutrients and serving sizes. At the bottom, representing the “base” of
a diet was the bread, cereal, rice and pasta group, then fruit and vegetables
on the same layer with their own recommended serving sizes. Following was meat,
poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts group even with milk, yogurt and cheese.
To top off the pyramid was fats, oils and sweets, suggested to be used
sparingly.
In 2005 the USDA replaced the icon
with a new and improved image called MyPyramid. The most apparent changes were
the man running stairs up the left side of the pyramid and the reorganization
of the ranked food groups; rather than stacking the categories on top of each
other the new image placed them side by side in a rainbow-hue of color all
reaching the top together. Generally the amount of importance placed on each
food group remained the same with the orange grains portion the largest,
followed by green for vegetables, and red for fruits. He blue milk category and
purple meats and beans remained similar sizes as before with oils in yellow
maintaining their place at last.
The new pyramid highlighted components such as activity, moderation,
personalization, proportionality, variety, and gradual improvement. An overall healthy lifestyle with
balanced diet and exercise was its main motive, with its catch phrase: “steps
to a healthier you.”
Even with the 2005 revision of the
MyPyramid image critics still found the tool too complicated to be useful in
assisting in well-balanced food choices.
In an attempt to simplify things for consumers, in June 2011 the USDA
implicated the new icon for dietary guidelines, MyPlate.
By design the new image adopted is
to be simple and easily interpreted by consumers, showing the four food groups with
the size of each section indicating the portions suggested. The benefits
presented by the plate such as the simpler layout resembling a dinner plate
with a four-way split of food groups: red for fruits, green for vegetables,
purple for protein and orange for grains, along with a blue section on the side
shaped as a glass for dairy.
Colorado State University Professor
of Food Science and Human Nutrition Jack Avens expressed his concern for
people’s lack of knowledge in healthy foods. Avens emphasized the importance of what he refers to as VBM,
variety balance and moderation as dietary guidelines.
“Everything
you put in your body should be an important decision,” Avens explained, “your
mouth and throat are nothing but pipelines to deliver nutrients to your body,
so making sure there is nutritional value in what you consume should be a
no-brainer.”
The challenges to eat healthy can
be found in restaurants, social gatherings, grocery stores and during midnight
cravings. The MyPlate food icon
pictures a plate with the food groups departmentalized into fourths and
indicates the necessary portions. At chooseyourplate.gov tips for eating out,
how to shop and count your portions can be found. The site helps analyze
specific diets and create personalized plans.
While
the image and other assets of the new tool are beneficial in assisting
consumers make healthy food choices, there are some criticisms about the lack
of exercise promotion.
Joanna
Johnson, Food Science and Human Nutrition major at CSU, said that eating
healthy is a crucial aspect of wellness but a healthy lifestyle cannot be
complete without physical fitness.
“The
overall idea of MyPlate is similar to MyPyramid, and it is good the new icon is
simpler, but the plate seems like an incomplete message in comparison…the
pyramid had the image of a man running to the top of it, kind of symbolizing
the overall goal, I feel the new icon lacks the whole picture,” Johnson
said.
She
emphasized the lack of awareness of the new icon on CSU’s campus, saying that
college students should be better informed of the importance in a balanced
diet, especially with the stress, lack of sleep and consumption of alcoholic
beverages.
The most recent edition of The
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 consists of 23 main recommendations for
the general population with six additional suggestions for specific groups such
as people with unique health needs or pregnant women. According to The Dietary
Guidelines for Americans 2010, the 23 recommendations can be summarized in the
three main objectives of the guidelines: balance calories with physical
activity to manage weight, consumer more of certain foods and nutrients such as
fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, and
seafood and consume fewer foods with sodium (salt), saturated fats, trans fats,
cholesterol, added sugar, and refined grains.
In a survey to 10 CSU freshmen, all
reported a lack of knowledge regarding the dietary guidelines, and the recent
switch to MyPlate. All 10 students also expressed a preference for the
MyPyramid version of the food guide from 2005. Freshmen Andi Merchant was not
alone in her statement that she would eagerly apply the food guide to her diet
if she were more aware of it.
Transitioning the average American
diet to one of more substantial health may be less about the image used to
demonstrate the guidelines and more about ensuring people’s knowledge of what
they should eat, and how to put these guidelines into action.
According to a CSU extension
article, “Choose MyPlate,” by Kaye Kasza, the key to applying MyPlate in
choosing your next meal, and not just letting it serve as a quick reminder to
do so is for people to do some research of there own and get familiar with the
foods they are dealing with. There are some complex aspects of purchasing food
such as the difference of buying “whole wheat” products over “muli-grain,”
which do not even assure the presence of whole grain at all.
Johnson discussed some of the
knowledge obtained in her major regarding her familiarity with the dietary
guidelines, and suggested that everyone should be familiar with them because
healthy eating is a crucial aspect of a long and healthy life.
“People have to commit to it, you get out of it what you put
into it,” Johnson said.
By: Brittany Lancaster
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