Food Guide Pyramid (1992) and Dietary Guidelines for All Americans (1995)
U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

URL: http://www.nal.usda.gov:8001/py/pmap.htm

SITE SUMMARY: This Guide to Daily Food Choices (also known as the Food Guide Pyramid) is an outline of what to eat every day. The FGP is a general guide, not a rigid prescription, to help people choose a healthy diet that is right for them. It identifies six food types and gives recommendations for daily serving amounts. Data are provided on serving size in each food group. Each pyramid section for each food group, and words under the pyramid for each group, are clickable and take site visitors to a page with data on food in that group, and food from which to choose. (The Web site with the 1995 Dietary Guidelines for All Americans, which are geared to the Food Guide Pyramid, is at http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dga/dguide95.html.)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES

1. Investigate the USDA's Food Guide Pyramid and the 1995 Dietary Guidelines. What are the recommended daily allowances for people in general in each food group? State six to nine itemized dietary guidelines. Give reasons for following the second and third guidelines. See the Introduction to the 1995 Guidelines, state three things that make a diet important, and explain why. Suggest foods for one day's breakfast, lunch, and supper. Include one drink for each meal as suggested in the Web document "When Choosing Foods and Beverages, Keep These Ideas in Mind." (Its url is cited in the Related Internet Sites section below.)
2. Identify similarities or differences between the 1995 Dietary Guidelines and the 2000 Guidelines (whose url is cited in the Related Internet Sites section that follows).
3. See the Food Guide Pyramid for Kids at the Kids Health Web site. (Its url is cited in the Related Internet Sites section below.) What are the recommended daily allowances for children? Compare them to recommended daily allowances in the general USDA FGP. Suggest meals for children for one day's breakfast, lunch, supper, snack, and theme-based meal. Include something from each FGP section. Include also a drink for each meal as suggested at the Kids' Favorite Beverages and the Food Guide Pyramid Web site, being sure it coincides with the Kids Health Web site's Food Guide Pyramid for Kids. (Hints: See the Healthy Snacks and Treats for Kids of All Ages Web site for help with finding a snack. See the Recipes Database at the More Than School Meals Web site for help with finding a theme meal. See also the Building Better Health—Child Nutrition Web site. [Their urls are cited in the Related Internet Sites section below, or in this book's chapter on Nutrition and Children: A Statement for Health Care Professionals from the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee.])
4. See the USDA FGP and Adolescents at the Keep Kids Healthy: Adolescent Nutrition Web site. (Its url is cited in the Related Internet Sites section below.) How are food requirements different for adolescents and adults? Suggest a breakfast, lunch, supper, snack, and theme-based meal, all for adolescents. (Note: Adolescents are identified as average ones who are active, not athletic or less active average ones.) (Hint: Also check the Web site with A Young Person's Guide to Good Food! [whose url is cited in the Related Internet Sites section below].)
5. Imagine you are in charge of a day's school lunch and recess snack. Following the recommendations of the Web sites cited just below, suggest foods to include in a school lunch and a snack. Do you think you can provide something tasty as well as nutritious? Why or why not? (See the Web sites More Than School Meals [whose url is cited in the Related Internet Sites section below], and Healthy Snacks and Treats for Kids of All Ages [found as suggested in Question/Activity no. 3 above].)

1. See the Web sites Ethnic/Cultural and Special Audience Food Guide Pyramids, Food Guide Pyramid Links at Nutrition Central, Healthy Eating Food Pyramids and Tools, or Ethnic Diversity and Nutrition in the U.S.: Navigating the Pyramids. (Find urls in the Related Internet Sites section below.) Choose an ethnic food pyramid. If possible, choose one related to your family heritage. What are this ethnic group's recommended daily food allowances? Suggest food for a family heritage meal. Select items from each food group in the chosen ethnic pyramid.
2. Some nutrition-minded people say the USDA FGP should be turned upside down. See the Web site with "Turning the Food Pyramid Upside Down" (a Harvard Medical School Publication) and its Healthy Eating Pyramid, and the Web sites "The Four Food Groups Old and New," Dietitians of Canada—News Room, and The Doctor Will See You Now: Nutrition. (Their urls are cited in the Related Internet Sites section below.) Why has it been suggested there be an upside down FGP? Why do some nutritional and medical scientists object to the FGP as it is generally accepted? Do you agree, or disagree? Why? Support your answer with quotes from two scientists, either a nutritionist or a dietitian, and a medical doctor. (Note: The Healthy Eating [upside down] Pyramid noted in the questions above is not the same as the Upside Down Pyramid [of how Americans actually eat] found via the Food Guide Pyramid Links at the Nutrition Central Web site cited in the Related Internet Sites section below.)
3. See the Historical Food Guides Web site found via the Food Guide Pyramid Links at Nutrition Central Web site, and the Historical Food Guides Background and Development via the Dietary Guidelines for Americans—Topics Page. (Each url is cited in the Related Internet Sites section below.) See "The Four Food Groups, Old and New" Web site cited in Question/Activity no. 7 above. State the Basic Four Food Groups' and the FGP's purposes. Include how purposes have changed through time.
4. See the Web page on "Classifying Space Food into the Major Food Groups Found in the USDA FGP." (Its url is cited in the Related Internet Sites section below.) Suggest a breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, and (optional) a theme-based meal that follow the USDA FGP or an alternative food guide at a Web site cited in this chapter and based on the food that is available to astronauts in space.

RELATED INTERNET SITE(S)

Keep Kids Healthy: Adolescent Nutrition—USDA Food Guide Pyramid and Adolescents

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/adolescent/adolescentnutrition.html

This Web site gives selection tips recommended by a doctor and emphasizes what adolescents, especially active ones, should eat from each food group, how much, and why. Note also the Food Guide Pyramid and School Age Kids at http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/schoolage/schoolagenutrition.html.

Food Guide Pyramid for Kids at Kidshealth.org

http://www.kidshealth.org/stay_healthy/food/pyramid.html

Kids' Favorite Beverages and the Food Guide Pyramid

http://applejuice.org/SmartSip.html#d

Scroll up and down this Web page to see links to, or information on, Smart Beverage Choices and more. Accessible also at http://www.applejuice.org when the Grownup Stuff link is clicked, then the Smart Sip link, then the title link or by scrolling down.

Healthy Eating Food Pyramids and Tools

http://www.oldwayspt.org

Advocating FGPs based on actual traditional diets as opposed to the USDA's "theoretical construct," the Harvard School of Public Health, Oldways Preservation and Exchange Trust and other institutions offer links to various FGPs (e.g., Vegetarian, Mediterranean, Latin American, and Asian), comparing and contrasting them to the USDA's FGP, and "showing how to follow the healthy eating patterns of cultures around the world that are scientifically proven to promote lifelong good health." See also the links to a Good Health Puzzle, and Educational Initiatives.

"Ethnic Diversity and Nutrition in the U.S.: Navigating the Pyramids"

http://food.orst.edu/kelsey/higdon.html

Originally part of an April 26, 1999 seminar at Oregon State University by Jane Higdon, this Web page document features information on "the popular but controversial" USDA FGP versus nutritional pyramids based on diets of different cultures. Introductory information, plus an outline, Internet references (e.g., Cultural Diversity: Eating in the Americas, and U.S. Ethnic Health Data) and print references, are provided.

Ethnic/Cultural and Special Audiences Food Guide Pyramids

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/etext/000023.html

This page, part of the Food and Nutrition Information Center Web site, features links to FGPs in special categories, e.g., Comparison of International Food Guide Pictorial Representations (in PDF format), Bilingual Food Guide Pyramids in Over Thirty Different Languages, Cultural Food Pyramids such as a Native American Food Guide and a Russian Food Pyramid, plus, for Special Audiences such as a Vegetarian Diet Pyramid. See also links to Food Composition, FNIC Resource Lists and Databases.

Food Guide Pyramid Links at Nutrition Central

http://www.lib.vt.edu/subjects/nutr/Nutrition.Central/pyramid.htm

Links go to Cultural Pyramids (from the Southern Michigan Dietetic Association), a Northeastern Regional Food Guide, Historical Food Guides (from the USDA), What's A Serving Anyway? Ten Steps for Teaching Kids How to Eat Right at Home and at School (from the USDA Team Nutrition), and an Upside Down Pyramid (of what Americans actually eat) (not the same as the Healthy Eating Pyramid in the "Turning the Food Pyramid Upside Down" article cited below).

More Than School Meals

http://www.asfsa.org/morethanschoolmeals

On this page of the American School Food Service Association, which became the Child Nutrition Foundation in 2002, see a Recipes link which leads to a Recipe of the Month, and a searchable Recipes database that features an advanced search by ingredient, food type, theme, and more. Through a Child Nutrition link, see also the links to Research, Education, School Food Service and Nutrition Magazine, the electronic Journal of Child Nutrition and Management, Food Pyramids (especially the one for age seven and up), and Ask the Nutritionist. See also links that lead to information on Food Illness Prevention by Schools, the Nutrition Advisory Council, the Global Child Nutrition Forum, and more.

"The Four Food Groups, Old and New" by Richard H. Schwartz

http://schwartz.enviroweb.org/ffgroups.html

This page has comments on the original 1956 version of the Four Basic Food Groups and the 1992 USDA's Food Guide Pyramid. It includes a challenge to this FGP from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (a health and nutrition advocacy group). Suggestions are given by the PCRM director and fellow doctors on four new food groups, "recommended revisions to the dietary guidelines for all Americans," "shifting to a healthier lifestyle based on a plant centered diet," and helping the public "translate the scientific nutritional evidence into everyday food choices."

"Turning the Food Pyramid Upside Down" (2000–2001)

http://www.health.harvard.edu/tools/pyramid.html

In this detailed Harvard Medical School Health Publication, see and read about "a new Healthy Eating Pyramid based on carefully conducted scientific research" at the Harvard School of Public Health, and one that turns the USDA FGP upside down.

Dietitians of Canada—News Room

http://www.dietitians.ca/news/index.html

Features links to news releases on dietitians' views, public policy issues, and research, all sponsored by the Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research, and the Dietitians of Canada. See also the links to Food and Nutrition Experts (with FAQs in PDF format), Research and Position Highlights on nutritional health, a Resource Centre, and Campaigns and Special Events with advice on foods and nutrition. In addition, see the links to Nutrition Resources, and A Career in Nutrition.

The Doctor Will See You Now: Nutrition

http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/articles/nutrition

See title links to articles under New Topics, Ongoing Topics, and Previous Topics.

Comments for the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee from the ADA

http://www.eatright.org/gov/lg081899.html

On August 18, 1999, these comments were offered by the American Dietetic Association, which "stands ready to assist the committee in developing scientifically based and consumer oriented guidelines."

Dietary Guidelines for Americans—Topics Page (Food and Nutrition Information Center)

http://photon.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dga

Links go to summaries and full texts of "Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans" and "Using the Dietary Guidelines for Americans." There are also links to "How Much Are You Eating? Putting the Guidelines Into Practice," "Historical Food Guides Background and Development," "Dietary Recommendations and How They Have Changed Over Time," plus Background and Related Information, e.g., "ABCs of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Science and Application" (An Online Self-Study Course), "Summary Table Comparing the Five Editions of the Guidelines," "Questions and Answers on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2000," and more. Some documents are in PDF format.

Nutrition and Your Health—Dietary Guidelines for Americans

http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines

See links to a summary and the full text of the current guidelines, "Using the Dietary Guidelines" in PDF format, Release of the Guidelines, Reports of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for the years 2000 and 1995, and Selected Federal Resources especially from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Dietary Guidelines Table of Contents (2000)

http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2000/document/contents.htm

See links to a summary, additional information on nutrition, and information under the topics Aim for Fitness, Build a Healthy Base, and Choose Sensibly.

Building Better Health—Child Nutrition

http://www.buildingbetterhealth.com/topic/childnutrition

Links go to Quick and Healthy breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks; information on school lunches, vegetarian diets, fruits and vegetables, food safety, and more. See also links under In the News (e.g., "Texas Restricts Junk Food Sales in Schools"), Resources (e.g., Web sites, a news archive, and magazine and journal archive), and Cool Tools (e.g., quizzes).

"Classifying Space Food into the Major Food Groups Found in the USDA FGP"

http://teacher.ed.usu.edu/tlnasa/units/SpaceFoodNutrition/16.pdf

An activity from Space Food and Nutrition: An Educators Guide with Activities in Science and Mathematics. (An html format is available by title search at google.com.)

A Young Person's Guide to Good Food!

http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_e/e-112.html

From the College of Agriculture and Home Economics at the University of New Mexico.

"When Choosing Foods and Beverages, Keep These Ideas in Mind"

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/nutrition/348-710/348-710.html

A part of the Virginia State University and Virginia Cooperative Extension Publication "The Food Guide Pyramid and Dietary Guidelines—How Can You Stay Healthy?" See also information on the Milk and Cheese Group and the Fruit Group for more tips on what to drink to follow recommendations for staying healthy as provided in the Food Group Pyramid and Dietary Guidelines.