Nutrition: the new food pyramid By: Dina Abuellel, Sara Davis, Allison Thompson

The food pyramid Early Beginnings: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, was established in 1994 to improve the nutrition and well-being of Americans. Toward this goal, the Center focuses its efforts on two primary objectives: Advance and promote dietary guidance for all Americans, and Conduct applied research and analyses in nutrition and consumer economics. Soon after that, in 1916, the first food guide, Food For Young Children was published. Caroline Hunt, a nutritionist and the author, divided food into 5 groups: milk/meat, cereals, vegetables/fruits, fats/fatty foods, and sugars/sugary foods.

Previous Food Pyramids The First Food Pyramid extremely flawed claimed: all fats are bad all complex carbohydrates are good; protein is protein dairy products are essential potatoes are good for you no recommendation for exercise. The Second Food Pyramid On April 19, 2005, the USDA launched a new food guidance system called “My Pyramid,” gave Americans a website to help them calculate their personal healthy food choices, based upon age and activity. “My Pyramid” was derided by nutritionists as too confusing and deeply flawed because it did not distinguish clearly between healthy foods like whole grains and fish and less healthy choices like white bread and bacon. A version of the pyramid currently appearing on cereal boxes, frozen dinners and other foods has been so streamlined and stripped of information that many people have no idea what it represents.

Goodbye, pyramid. Hello, plate. The new design, called MyPlate, was conceived as a crucial part of Mrs. Obama’s campaign against obesity, designed to remind consumers about the basics of a healthful diet. The plate is split into four sections, for fruit, vegetables, grains and protein. A smaller circle sits beside it for dairy products. The MyPlate icon is easy to understand and it helps to promote messages based on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The new MyPlate icon builds on a familiar image — a plate — and is accompanied by messages to encourage consumers to make healthy choices. It is easily understood by both children and adults. To simplify the image, the MyPlate icon includes only the five food groups to help remind consumers to eat healthfully. It does not include all of the messages of the Dietary Guidelines. Although not depicted in this icon, physical activity is still very important for an overall healthy lifestyle.

MyPlate- how it works The plate features four sections (vegetables, fruits, grains, and protein) plus a side order of dairy in blue. Encourages children and adults to eat a variety of foods. Encourages children and adults to eat less of some foods and more of others. Like the pyramid, the plate has been divided so that the grain section is bigger than the protein section. Why? Because nutrition experts recommend you eat more vegetables than fruit and more grains than protein foods. The divided plate also aims to discourage big portions, which can cause weight gain. The big message is that fruits and vegetables take up half the plate, with the vegetable portion being a little bigger than the fruit section.

What you can do for your students… Remind them to be physically active every day. Reward with attention and other incentives- not food! Remind them to eat more from some food groups than others, and avoid too much of one group. Provide whole-grain snacks such as granola bars. Provide water or low-fat milk as an alternative to sugary soft drinks.

References http://www.choosemyplate.gov/kids/kids_game.html Blast Off Game U.S. Department of Agriculture. www.ChooseMyPlate.gov http://www.healthykidschallenge.com/content/healthy-kids-challenge-ways- teach-MyPlate-kids Teaching Nutrition Website www.understandingcandida.com Old food pyramid 1 www.huffingtonpost.com Old food pyramid 2 http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/pyramid.html Kids Health http://www.livestrong.com/article/347093-what-is-the-purpose-of-the-food- pyramid/#ixzz1cxCTZ1wu LiveStrong http://health.learninginfo.org/food-pyramid.htm Food Pyramid/Nutrition Information