What is the original Food Guide Pyramid?

• Developed in 1992, the original Pyramid was an educational tool used to help Americans select healthful diets.
• The original Pyramid translated nutrition recommendations for consumers, from the Dietary Guidelines and the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA’s) published in 1989, into the kinds and amounts of food to eat each day.
• Now MyPyramid, the new food guidance system, is replacing the original Food Guide Pyramid.

What is the relationship between the Dietary Guidelines and MyPyramid?

• The Dietary Guidelines for Americans represent federal nutrition policy.
• MyPyramid is the educational tool designed to help consumers make healthier food and physical activity choices for a healthy lifestyle that are consistent with the guidelines.
• The U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) publish the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, first released in 1980 and revised in 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000 and most recently in January 2005, jointly.
• MyPyramid translates the principles of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and other nutritional standards to assist consumers in making healthier food and physical activity choices.
• MyPyramid was developed and issued by USDA.

What was the timeline for the revision of the Food Guide Pyramid and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans?

• The process for updating the Pyramid was coordinated with the activities of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. However, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee was not responsible for revising the Food Guide Pyramid.
• USDA and HHS released the 6th edition of the Dietary Guidelines jointly in January 2005.

The MyPyramid symbol in its simplest form has no foods pictured in it. How will consumers know what to eat?

• One symbol can’t carry all the nutrition guidance. The new symbol was designed to be simple. It reminds consumers to make healthy food and physical activity choices and be physically active every day. Each person has a Pyramid that is right for them based on their age, sex and physical activity level. Consumers are encouraged to find out what they need to eat each day and their physical activity level at MyPyramid.gov.

Why doesn’t the new graphic illustrate trans fatty acids, water or other items?

• In the original 1992 Food Guide Pyramid graphic, it was not possible to incorporate all nutrition guidance in one graphic, so several key messages were selected for illustration. When revising USDA’s food guidance, the choice was to either to further complicate the graphic by adding more concepts or to simplify the graphic. USDA chose to reduce the graphic’s complexity and develop stronger supporting tools that provide clear guidance for consumers.

Why revise the original Pyramid?

• USDA has been providing nutrition guidance for over 100 years. USDA released the original Food Guide Pyramid in 1992. MyPyramid reflects the most current science; and the updated tools are designed for ease of use by consumers.

What are the goals for MyPyramid?

• The primary goal for MyPyramid is to encourage dietary and physical activity behavior change among American consumers. Although most consumers recognize the original Pyramid, only a small percentage of them followed it in its entirety.

What’s different about MyPyramid?

• The MyPyramid symbol is one part of the food guidance system, an update to the Food Guide Pyramid. The new MyPyramid offers consumers a more personalized approach to healthy eating and physical activity.

What is the food guidance system?

• The food guidance system is MyPyramid. The name food guidance system was used as a working title before the name MyPyramid was selected. MyPyramid is made up of motivational and educational tools designed to help consumers make healthier food choices. The motivational tools are the new MyPyramid symbol and slogan, “Steps to a Healthier You.” The educational tools are the educational framework, consumer messages found on the new poster and the interactive activities that will help consumers find the Pyramid that is right for them. These tools provide personalization and information on demand.

What were the steps in the revision of the original Pyramid and development of MyPyramid?

• The revision of the original Food Guide Pyramid was conducted in two phases – a technical reassessment and communications development.
• The reassessment and revision was an open, public process. Information was shared with the public and feedback was solicited at several stages.
• The new MyPyramid food guidance system reflects the recommendations of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
• The technical reassessment included updating of the original Pyramid’s daily food intake patterns (recommendations on what and how much to eat) to assure that the science base is up-to-date.
  • The food intake patterns were revised to meet new nutritional standards, including new energy requirements, and to reflect present food consumption patterns and nutrient content of foods.
  • The process and results of the technical reassessment were posted in the September 11, 2003, Federal Register (68 FR 53536) for review and comment. Comments were solicited on the proposed new food intake patterns from health and education professionals, government and industry scientists and the American public.
  • The technical reassessment was also discussed with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, and the new food intake patterns were finalized after incorporating their input.
  • USDA received widespread support for the science-based revisions proposed for the food guidance system.
  • These new food intake patterns form the basis for USDA’s new MyPyramid food guidance system.
• The communications strategy for the MyPyramid food guidance system was designed to provide consumers with motivational and educational tools to help them implement its recommendations. The system includes:
  1. a new motivational symbol and slogan, “Steps to a Healthier You,”
  2. clear and concise nutrition messages for educational materials like posters and brochures that communicate the new food guidance recommendations in ways consumers can more easily understand and put into practice, and
  3. interactive activities to help consumers personalize their diet and get more information on topics of interest to them.
  • A second Federal Register notice was posted on July 13, 2004, (69 FR 42030) to outline USDA’s plans for the communications strategy for the new food guidance system and provide the public the opportunity to comment.
  • The new graphic image, slogan and consumer messages were tested with consumers during the development process.

What are discretionary calories?

• Individuals need a certain number of calories to keep their bodies functioning and to provide energy for physical activities – this is the total energy requirement. The energy requirement depends upon a person’s age, gender, body size and physical activity level. If an individual chose to eat all foods in their lowest fat form and with no added sugars, they could meet their nutrient needs using fewer calories than the calories in their total energy requirement. This would leave a remaining balance of calories needed to meet energy needs, but not needed to meet specific nutrient needs. This balance is the discretionary calorie allowance. In other words, the discretionary calorie allowance is the balance of calories remaining in a person’s total energy requirement after accounting for the calories needed to meet nutrient needs by eating foods in low-fat or no added sugar forms.
• Each person has an allowance for some discretionary calories, but most discretionary calorie allowances are very small, between 100 and 300 calories, especially for those who are not physically active.  The discretionary calorie allowance can be used to increase the amount of nutrient-dense foods or to select foods that are not in their most nutrient-dense form, sweetened beverages, additional foods, or additions to foods (e.g., salad dressing, sugar, butter).  For many people, the discretionary calorie allowance is totally used by the foods they choose in each food group.

What other designs were tested?

• Several designs were tested. Pyramid-shaped designs, Pyramid-like designs and non-Pyramid designs were all tested with consumers
• Several rounds of consumer testing were used to identify the appeal of various designs and to refine elements of the top ranking designs.

What are the shortfalls of the American diet?

• The American diet is not in balance. On average, Americans don’t eat enough dark greens, orange vegetables and legumes, fruits, whole grains and low-fat milk products. They eat more fats and added sugars. To bring the diet into balance, MyPyramid recommends eating more of the under-consumed foods and less solid fats, added sugars, and caloric sweeteners and foods rich in these.

How do you use the Food Guidance System?

• There are many ways to use the Food Guidance System. One way is to follow the food group recommendations found on the MyPyramid.gov Web site or on the poster. Also, consumers can find out what and how much they need to eat each day by going to the Web site and plugging in their height, weight and age to get more personal recommendations. For consumers who want to evaluate their current diet and physical activity pattern, they can go to the Web site and click on the MyPyramid Tracker.

What’s next?

• USDA is just getting started. USDA’s next step is to help teachers work with children to learn about the Food Guidance System. Look for materials targeted for children later this year. USDA plans to develop additional interactive tools to help consumers make healthier food choices. USDA also plans to work with partners to amplify the messages and reach of the food guidance system to consumers.

What advice does the revised Pyramid have for children?

• MyPyramid is appropriate for children aged 2 and up. Additional materials for children are currently in development – which will include specific graphics, messages and materials developed to reach children – in coordination with the overall project.

Does MyPyramid address the obesity epidemic?

• USDA is committed to combating obesity. MyPyramid helps consumers find the right amount of food needed to balance with their daily physical activity.
• MyPyramid encourages consumers to shift their focus on more nutrient-dense foods that are now under-consumed. This should help them meet their nutrient needs within their calorie level.

What are the benefits of the new Food Guidance System?

• It enables the use of a symbol as a stand-alone visual to represent the overall food guidance system without being cluttered by specific messages;
• It more effectively teaches consumers what and how much to eat through clear, tailored nutrition messages and diet personalization;
• It helps combat obesity by encouraging healthier eating patterns;
• It helps to improves the overall health and well-being of Americans; and
• It more effectively reaches consumers through the use of multiple channels including the Internet.

This page was last updated on November 04, 2008 02:28 PM