Is the food pyramid the reason more people are overweight?
Should the food pyramid be turned upside down, as some advocates of high protein low carb diets propose?
Now is your chance to provide your feedback and advice on what you think is wrong with the current food pyramid and how it should be changed.
To influence how the food pyramid changes, you can send your written comments to the Food Guide Pyramid Reassessment Team at the USDA on or before October 27, 2003. Send you comments to:
Food Guide Pyramid Reassessment Team
USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
3101 Park Center Drive
Room 1034, Alexandria, VA 22302
Why do we even need a new Food Guide Pyramid?
The Pyramid is 'a food based dietary guidance tool to help Americans make daily food choices that are adequate in meeting nutritional standards but moderate in energy level and in food components often consumed in excess.' That means it helps guide your diet and food choices so that you can eat enough to be healthy, but not too much so that you become overweight.The food pyramid is being updated to 'ensure (1) that the Pyramid's daily food intake patterns (what and how much to eat) continue to meet current nutritional standards and (2) that consumers can understand and apply its messages.' Don't expect any big changes in the food pyramid though. They are not going to turn it upside down.
One change is that they are going to 'create food patterns for each age/ gender group appropriate for several levels of physical activity,' because people who are very active and those who are couch potatoes don't have the same daily calorie requirements.
Another possible change may be to use the terms 'cups' and 'ounces' instead of 'servings'. One problem with the current food pyramid is that many people misunderstand it and end up overeating. Instead of counting a large portion as multiple servings, they count it as 1 serving and overeat. A serving is not what you can eat at one meal!
For example, one 'serving' of meat in the food pyramid is equal to 2-3 ounces of cooked lean meat, so if you eat a 12 ounce steak or a Double Quarter Pounder, that would count as 4 servings of meat. And that would be more than the 2-3 servings from the Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts food group that you need in an entire day.
Or if you eat a large bowl of cereal, with 2-3 cups of cereal and 1 1/2 - 2 cups of milk, you are well over just one serving from the Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta and Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese food groups.
So organizing the food pyramid and its food groups based on typical serving sizes (what people eat at one meal) or simply by 'cups' and 'ounces' might be helpful.
