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Review Date 6/11 G-1522

Making Sense of MyPlateUsing USDA’s

ChooseMyPlate as a Guide to Healthful Eating

Why Use MyPlate?

• MyPlate is an easy-to-use, visual food guide that helps put the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans into practice

• The dietary guidelines and MyPlate work together to help Americans make healthy food choices

•Dietary recommendations for health promotion and chronic disease prevention

•Based on Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee report and public comments

•For policy makers and health professionals

•Available at: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/dietaryguidelines.htm

Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Dietary Guidelines for Americans (cont’d)

• Provides general health information based on scientific research

• Does not provide specific food intake guidelines

• Refers readers to specific food guides, such as MyPlate, for information on food groups and serving sizes

History of USDA’s Food Guidance System

1940

s

1950s-

1960s

1970

s

1992

2005

Food for Children

1916

2011

Why Change From a Pyramid to a Plate?

• Simplifies the way Americans should eat• Provides a clear visual cue• Gives consumers a fast, easy-to-grasp reminder of the basics of a healthy diet

Message to Consumers: Eat

Healthfully2010 Dietary Guidelines:• Designed to help Americans

make better food choices by balancing calories and increasing consumption of healthy foods

MyPlate graphic: • Illustrates the five food

groups in an easy-to-understand plate

MyPlate Illustrates the Five Food Groups

Benefits of MyPlate

• The familiar plate is a simple reminder for Americans to make better choices

• The easy-to-remember visual cue provides a way to control portion sizes

MyPlate: Key Messages for Consumers

1. Balancing calories– Enjoy your food, but eat less– Avoid oversized portions

2. Foods to increase– Make half of your plate fruits and vegetables– Choose at least half of your grains as whole grains– Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk

3. Foods to reduce– Compare sodium in foods, such as soups, breads, and frozen

meals, choosing the foods with lower numbers– Drink water instead of sugary drinks

Grains Group

• The amount of grains that you need depends on your age, sex, and level of physical activity

• Generally, men and women need between 6–8 ounces (oz) of grains every day

• 1 oz is about one slide of bread, 1 cup (C) of breakfast cereal, or ½ C of cooked rice, cereal, or pasta

• Key message: Make at least half of your grains whole grains

Vegetables Group

• Eat more dark-green vegetables—broccoli, spinach, and other dark-leafy greens

• Consume more orange vegetables—carrots and sweet potatoes

• Include more dry beans and peas—pinto beans, kidney beans, and lentils

• Generally, men and women should consume 2½ C every day

• Key message: Make half of your plate fruits and vegetables

Fruits Group

• Eat a variety of fruit• Choose fresh, frozen, canned, or dried fruit• Go easy on fruit juices• Try to consume 2 C every day• Key message: Make half of your plate fruits

and vegetables

• Includes all fluid milk products and many foods made from milk

• Choose low-fat or fat-free milk, yogurt, and other milk products

• If you do not or cannot consume milk, choose lactose-free products or other calcium sources, such as fortified foods and beverages

• Depending on age, consume 2½–3 C every day• Key message: Switch to fat-free or low-fat

(1%) milk

Dairy Group

• Includes all foods made from meat, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, eggs, processed soy products, nuts, and seeds

• Choose low-fat or lean meats and poultry• Bake it, broil it, or grill it• Vary your protein routine—choose more

fish, beans, peas, nuts, and seeds• Generally, men and women need 5½–6

oz every day

Protein Group

• Get most of your fat sources from fish, nuts, and vegetable oils

• Limit solid fats (butter, stick margarine, shortening, and lard) and fried foods that contain these

• Check Nutrition Facts labels to keep saturated fats, trans fats, and sodium low

• Choose foods/beverages low in added sugars—they contribute calories with few, if any, nutrients

Know the Limits on Fats, Sugar, and

Sodium

• Stay within your daily calorie needs• Keep physically active for 30 minutes most

days of the week• Know that you may need about 60 minutes a

day of physical activity to prevent weight gain• Understand that you may need 60–90 minutes

of physical activity to sustain weight loss• Help children and teens get 60 minutes of

physical activity every day or most days

Balance Between Food and Physical Exercise

When to Use MyPlate

•To learn about the food groups

•To find out how much of different foods you should eat

•To help track your food intake online

•As a simple reminder of how your plate should look at mealtimes