Here’s a quick quiz: What replaced the food pyramid, the government’s guide to healthy eating that stood for nearly 20 years?
If you’re stumped, you’re not alone.
More than a decade after Agriculture Department officials abandoned the pyramid, few Americans have heard of MyPlate, a plate-shaped logo that emphasizes fruits and vegetables.
According to one study, only about 25% of adults were aware of MyPlate, and less than 10% had tried to use the guide. released on tuesday by the National Center for Health Statistics. Those numbers for 2017-2020 showed only a slight improvement over a similar survey conducted a few years earlier.
That means the Obama administration’s program that costs about $3 million a year hasn’t reached the majority of Americans, even as diet-related diseases like obesity, diabetes and heart disease have continued to rise. .
“This is currently the primary education tool that communicates guidelines for Americans,” said the study’s lead author, Edwina Wambogo, a nutrition epidemiologist with the agency. “MyPlate should be a little better.”
The results are not surprising, said Marion Nestle, an expert on food policy.
“Why would anyone expect otherwise?” she said in an email. “MyPlate never came with an education campaign, it’s already outdated, it only deals with healthy foods, it says nothing about unhealthy foods, and it’s so far from what Americans actually eat that it seems unachievable.”
A senior USDA official said the agency’s proposed fiscal year 2023 budget seeks an increase from $3 million to $10 million a year to bolster the MyPlate campaign by broadening its reach and making recipes and other materials more culturally relevant. .
“We absolutely want to make sure MyPlate and other critical tools are in the hands of more people,” said Stacy Dean, deputy assistant secretary for food, nutrition and consumer services.
The new study found that people who rated their diet as excellent, very good or good were much more likely to have heard of MyPlate than those who said their diet was fair or poor. Of those who had heard of the plan, about a third tried to go along with it, the study found.
MyPlate was introduced in 2011 with the high-profile endorsement of former first lady Michelle Obama, who focused on healthy eating and exercise.
Use a flat plate with four colored sections for fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein, with a smaller circle for dairy products, such as low-fat milk or yogurt. He encouraged Americans to half their meals with fruits and vegetables in what was touted as a quick and easily accessible format.
But the guidance left out crucial details, said Dr. Vijaya Surampudi, a nutrition specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“It doesn’t differentiate between starchy vegetables and non-starchy vegetables,” he said. “There are no fats there.”
MyPlate also doesn’t acknowledge that vegetables, grains and dairy products also contain protein, Nestle added.
MyPlate replaced the USDA food pyramid, which was in use from 1992 to 2011. Although it was recognized by generations of school children, nutritionists criticized the pyramid for promoting too many carbohydrates through grains and reducing fat.
“It was not the best set of recommendations on so many levels,” Surampudi said. “Our diabetes rates did not go down. Our obesity rates did not go down. He went up.
The new study asked to investigate why some groups are less likely to know and follow government guidelines, and how best to reach people with poor diets.
But it’s complicated, Surampudi said. In general, people now know that they should eat more fruits and vegetables. Beyond that, the message gets mixed up.
“The minute it gets a little confusing, people shut down,” he said.
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The Associated Press Department of Health and Science receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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