ChooseMyPlate - The new US food icon

This morning was a new revolution for dietitians in the US.

Yes, it was time that the US food pyramid had a makeover. The new ChooseMyPlate is in town.

Yes, I did manage to find the plate in other colours - I like this pink one! You can check out the graphics section of the website here.

Here's an excerpt from the ChooseMyPlate website with the key nutrition messages that go with the plate.

	Balancing Calories
	●	Enjoy your food, but eat less.
	●	Avoid oversized portions.
	Foods to Increase
	●	Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
	●	Make at least half your grains whole grains.
	●	Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.
	Foods to Reduce
	●	Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals ― and choose the foods with lower numbers.
	●	Drink water instead of sugary drinks.

Interestingly, Australia already uses the plate as the national food selection guide and has since 1998. Here's what Australia uses at the moment (although Australia is currently revising their food guide as we speak.. to be released later this year).

I guess I have a couple of quick thoughts on the new US food icon that I would like to share with you.

1. I think the simplicity of the plate makes it easy to read and understand, even for a child as First Lady Michelle Obama said.

2. Although there are no pictures, the colours make each food group easy to distinguish and there is no bias as to specifically what foods should be eaten. Thus the plate is compatible for diets across cultures.

3. I agree with Marion Nestle that the word protein is a nutrient, not a food, and when all other words on the plate are food words (Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Dairy), why not use food words to describe the group which primarily contains the nutrient, protein.

4. I think what may be confusing for people is the fact that MyPlate is not just a representation of the proportions that foods on a plate should be, but it is also a representation of the portions of the food groups that you should have each day. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on what you see when you look at the MyPlate. Share your thoughts with me on Facebook or write a comment below.

5. Should fruits and vegetables be included together as a message to form half of the plate? I know here in Australia we generally eat enough fruit but it's the 5 serves of vegetables that we struggle to eat every day. I've always liked the concept of filling half your plate with vegetables, and I'm worried that by combining the fruit and vegetables that people may get the wrong idea and cut back on their vegetable consumption and increase the not-so-ideal fruit containing foods such as large quantities of fruit juices, fruit bars etc.

6. We need to remember why the USDA has launced this plate in the first place. It is about trying to guide consumers to eat a healthy diet and reduce the rates of overweight and obesity. Yes there may be elements in the guide that are missing, such as good fats and physical activity, and although this plate is not the single answer to the obesity epidemic, it sure is a step in the right direction. (Sometimes I think that if we make things too complex, people will not mesh with the idea at all and place it in the too hard basket!)

The MyPlate website has plenty of additional resources and information, so make sure you check it out. And if you're into Twitter, use the hash tags #foodicon and #myplate in a search which will bring up lots of interesting discussion from people all around the world!

Hopefully it won't be too long before I will be able to share with you the news of Australia's new food selection guide. What would you want that to look like?