New USDA food pyramid receives mixed reviews
By Eileen Chen
May 5, 2005 9:00 p.m.
Soon bread bags, cereal boxes and other food packaging materials
will be changing their look.
The logos, packaging material and nutrition facts will most
likely be the same ““ but replacing the old, familiar food
pyramid will be the new MyPyramid.
Though it was hailed as the new interactive, daily personalized
food guidance system, the symbol has also been criticized as having
been influenced by lobbying corporations and unions, according to
critics of MyPyramid.
On April 19, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns presented a new
personalized symbol for food guidance. The decision to replace the
old pyramid was a result of updated scientific research and an
effort to bolster the effectiveness of the food guidance
system.
Since the inception of the original pyramid in 1992, dietary and
nutritional science has progressed to include overlooked aspects of
nutritional health, such as physical activity and the difference
between whole grains and refined grains.
The new MyPyramid reflects this and other changes because it was
developed with the 2005 USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans in
mind, said Vay-Liang Go, a UCLA professor and one of the 13 members
on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.
Instead of being a simple revision of recommended proportions of
different food groups, the new food guidance system is centered
around interactive technology to urge Americans to commit to a
healthy, balanced diet.
The Web site MyPyramid.gov offers personalized recommendations
of amounts of foods to eat, daily trackers of physical activity and
diet, and a variety of tips and resources ““ all to fit an
individual’s health needs.
Along with the Web site is a new MyPyramid symbol which consists
of a pyramid with six vertical colored bars and a man climbing the
steps to the top.
Critics of the design and the purpose of MyPyramid can be found
in the UCLA community.
“It is not particularly effective because there are no
words within the symbol,” said Susan Bowerman, assistant
director of the UCLA Center of Human Nutrition.
To understand MyPyramid, consumers would have to read the
supplementary text which explains the proportions and which food
group each colored bar represents. The bars are too vague to be
understood by the common American consumer, Bowerman explained.
According to MyPyramid.gov, the symbol was only meant to direct
consumers to the Web site where exact proportions of each food
group would be given according to the individual’s age,
gender and level of physical activity.
However, Bowerman claims that these three items together are not
enough information to formulate an appropriate food pyramid for an
individual.
“What does 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity mean? Is
it intense or is it walking?” Bowerman asked.
On the other hand, Go said that it would be impossible to make
an entirely personalized food pyramid and that MyPyramid was
already an improvement from the original food pyramid. He added it
was “a one size fit all” model that did not take into
consideration age or gender.
“MyPyramid is the consequence of the 2005 Dietary
Guidelines which the (Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee)
released after two years of academia research,” Go said in an
attempt to dispel rumors that MyPyramid was a result of lobbying
corporations and restaurant unions.
The process of structuring and the design of MyPyramid wholly
follows the recommendations of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory
Committee, which Go said consisted of 13 academics unrelated to the
food industries.
The committee met several times over two years to ask questions
and make conclusions concerning issues of nutrient adequacy,
physical activity and the effect of alcoholic beverages for the
American consumer.
These guidelines are not only incorporated into MyPyramid for
food guidance, but also into the meal plans for all federal feeding
programs, such as elementary school lunch programs, Go said.
“There is less “˜don’t eat this or that’
or “˜this is bad for you’ (in the guidelines) ““
but more of “˜eat more of whole grains’ and
“˜exercise more,'” Go said.
Bowerman views this tone as a result of corporations,
restaurants and farmers successfully pushing the blame of American
obesity onto the individual.
“Instead of coming down on certain restaurants for
producing bad foods ““ MyPyramid is saying that the individual
can prevent obesity,” she said.
