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The iconic food pyramid of nutrition guidelines is out, and a much simpler plate graphic that emphasizes new approaches to healthy eating is in, a move welcomed by Bay Area nutrition experts.
Sec. of Agriculture Tom Vilsack unveiled the new icon, MyPlate, on Thursday in the nation’s capital, accompanied by First Lady Michelle Obama, whose involvement is part of her campaign to reduce America’s bulging waistline, especially in children.
The plate graphic updates the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) new dietary guidelines, released last year, which emphasize more fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains and less sugar, salt and fats. MyPlate makes fruits and vegetables 50 percent of daily meals with proteins and grains comprising roughly 25 percent each. There is also a serving of dairy, which includes low-fat milk and cheese.
The new plate is a dramatic departure from the old pyramid, which even after a revision in 2005, was criticized by food policy experts as confusing and consumer unfriendly. The pyramid made breads, cereals, pasta and rice the largest food category in the bottom section and allowed for fats, oils and sugars sparingly in the smallest top of the pyramid.
Now, sugars and fats aren’t shown on the plate, although clicking on the individual food groups will lead to information about them and how to limit them in your daily meals, and grains are decreased while fruits and vegetables are increased. Whole grains should comprise about half of your daily diet, too—another big change.
“We think it’s a good first step and a big improvement over the pyramid,” said Juliet Sims, nutritionist at the Prevention Institute, a food policy group in Oakland.
Sims said the new plate icon shows the growing consensus among government agencies that American diets and the food supply must shift away from processed foods and toward more fresh produce and whole grains. The pyramid model, she said, was supported in part by food industry lobbying.
“Kudos to the USDA for focusing on what people should be eating instead of responding to company pressure for a place on the pyramid,” she said.
Gail Woodward-Lopez, associate director of the Center for Weight and Health at UC Berkeley, also welcomed the plate as both more user friendly and more in line with current nutrition science.
“It has the potential to be more effective,” she said. “The pyramid involved counting the number of servings for the day. So when do you make that decision? When you go to bed at night?”
She said the plate is consistent with the Center’s findings on obesity prevention for children and adults: “lots of fruits and vegetables, less refined grains, don’t overdo the protein.”
Andrea Garber, a pediatrician and nutritionist for UCSF’s Eating Disorders Program and Childhood Obesity Program, said she is happy to see the USDA retire the pyramid.
“Good riddance!” she said. “The food guide pyramid, despite all the thought and money that went into it, didn’t guide people on what to eat. We have used the plate model for eight years. It’s long overdue.”
The anti-obesity program takes the USDA plate one step further, though, Garber said: “The science says eat mostly whole grains and eat healthier fats—more olive oil and plant oils.”
© The Bay Citizen, 2012
