Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Nutrition and Weight Control New Dietary Guidelines

A balanced eating plan is the key to good health and a trim waistline, according to the USDA’s new dietary guidelines.

The Food Pyramid we all know has been updated, redesigned—and turned technologically savvy. In the Spring of 2005, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a new food pyramid called “MyPyramid.”

This new food pyramid promotes a more personalized approach to eating (especially via its interactive website)—whereas the old food pyramid offered one-size-fits-all recommendations for servings of fruits, vegetables, grains, and other foods. The new food pyramid also incorporates the latest information about nutrition and health and the latest dietary guidelines for Americans, also released in 2005. Most of all, the new food pyramid and its slogan, “Steps to a Healthier You,” encourage you to take small steps each day to improve your choices of food and physical activity.

Source: FDA

The new FDA Food Pyramid

The new food pyramid -- same shape, new concepts

MyPyramid has the triangular shape of its predecessor, but uses vertical bands of colors to relay its message about making healthy choices of food and exercise. Each colored band represents one of the six food groups, and the width of the band indicates the relative amount you should eat from each group (the wider the band the larger the amount). Here’s what each band of the food pyramid stands for:

• The orange band at the far left is the largest, and represents grains.


• The next green band signifies vegetables.


• The red center band is for fruits.


• The thinnest yellow band stands for oils and fats.


• The blue band second from the right signifies milk products.


• And the purple band at the far right is for meat, fish, and beans.

The base of each band on the food pyramid indicates the healthiest foods in each food group, that is foods with no added sugars or sweeteners and no saturated or trans fats: For instance, whole grain cereals and breads in the grain category and low- or no-fat dairy products in the milk category. These foods should make up the vast majority of your diet. The narrower tip on the food pyramid is reserved for less healthy foods, to be indulged in occasionally: For instance, cookies in the grain category or ice cream in the milk category, which are both high in fat, sugar, and calories. The figure climbing up the staircase on the side of the food pyramid is there to remind you to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week.

The new food pyramid -- individualizing the recommendations

These new vertical bands are just the first step on your road to a healthy diet; they provide only general recommendations for healthy eating. It’s fine to simply follow what the vertical bands recommend, but the new food pyramid also allows you to customize your eating plan to your specific needs. To do this, visit the USDA website at www.MyPyramid.gov. Once at the site, you’ll be asked to provide your age, sex, and activity level. In return, you’ll receive personalized information, as well as other helpful information, including extensive lists of the types of foods in each food pyramid group, how to count the amounts of food in each group, and tips on finding the best foods in each group.

The website also contains a “MyPyramid Tracker” that allows you to compare a day’s worth of the foods you’ve eaten to what the food pyramid personally recommends for you, so that you can figure out where you’re hitting and missing the mark. It then provides you with information on how to change your diet and exercise habits to lose or maintain weight.

The latest national dietary guidelines emphasize what nutritionists have been saying all along: When it comes to making good nutrition choices and controlling your weight, calories count. (So does exercise, but that’s another subject). Eat more calories than your body expends, and you’ll gain weight—regardless of whether the extra calories come from fat, carbohydrates, or protein. Balance, then, in terms of calories, as well as nutrients and food choices, is the key to good health and a trim waistline.