From My Pyramid to My Plate

The Food Guide Pyramid became one of the most recognised,useful,and influential food guides in history. It was widely adopted as an icon and used by nutrition educators,food industry,nutrition programmes,schools,and a large majority of the public became familiar with the graphic.

Different countries adapted it and there were Asian,Mediterranean and American versions. It represented different food groups and relative percentage of calories coming from each of them. However,research in 2004 indicated that,while key concepts of the Pyramid were understood,specific knowledge about it was limited. Consumers preferred familiar images and new personalised messages. This led to emergence of My Pyramid,which simplified serving sizes for different food groups,in the original Food Pyramid to household measures such as cups,ounces etc and emphasised physical activity. Confusion then arose with some still using the old Pyramid and others the new My Pyramid. The Pyramid became simultaneously criticised for being either too simplistic or too complicated. Additionally,it was felt that consumers were so familiar with the Pyramid,that they were not paying attention and implementing its advice. Further,the Pyramid became controversial when some claimed that the USDA (US Department of Agriculture) was unduly influenced by political pressure exerted by lobbyists for food production associations,in particular dairy and meat. It was time for a change.

On June 2,2011,First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled the new food icon,MyPlate,to make it easy for consumers to determine the best foods to build a healthy plate at meal times. MyPlate is based on the updated 2010 Dietary guidelines for Americans. It focuses on visual cues,rather than specific messages. My continues the personalization approach from MyPyramid. It emphasizes the fruit,vegetable,grains,protein and dairy food groups.

The guidelines messages of MyPlate include:

Balance calories

* Enjoy your food,but eat less.

* Avoid oversized portions.

Foods to increase

* Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.

* Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.

* Make at least half your grains whole grains

Foods to reduce

Story continues below this ad

* Compare sodium (salt) in foods like soup,bread,and frozen meals,and choose foods with lower numbers.

* Drink water instead of sugary drinks.

Be active your wayBalancing healthy eating with regular physical activity is essential.

With so many nutritional messages bombarded on consumers over the years,it is challenging to communicate these effectively. MyPlate,the brand new approach to healthy eating,based on years of research on consumer behaviour certainly offers promise. By offering easy and practical visual cues for building your very own healthy plate,it will help people focus on healthy eating behaviours and improve diets.