USDA's MyPlate Versus Americans' Actual Plate
earthpure
Posted On January 6, 2012
USDA's MyPlate
The nutritionally balanced quadrants of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) MyPlate --- the new federal dietary guidelines that depict a healthful daily diet -- look quite different from what’s actually on the plates of most Americans, according to new research from The NPD Group.
Using its National Eating Trends (NET) research, which has continually tracked the eating and drinking habits of U.S. consumers for more than 30 years, Port Washington, N.Y.-based NPD calculated MyPlate days based on consumers who, on the same day, achieved at least 70 percent of the daily recommended intake for dairy, fruit, grains, proteins and vegetables. For the average consumer, only 2 percent of their days (about seven days a year) come close to resembling the USDA’s MyPlate dietary guidelines, the research showed.
When a MyPlate day is achieved, consumers are highly likely to consume more than three meals a day.
“We know through our ongoing research that consumers are more aware of what constitutes a healthy diet, but we also know what they say and what they do when it comes to eating are often different,” said Darren Seifer, NPD’s food and beverage industry analyst who analyzed the NET information in comparison to the MyPlate guidelines. “Since the MyPlate program was just released last year, time will tell if it will have an effect on the way consumers eat, but it’s likely to be an uphill battle.”
Photo Credit: USDA Accessed 12/19/11
MyPlate is the "new generation" food icon to prompt consumers to think differently about their food choices. ChooseMyPlte.gov contains a wealth of resources based on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to help individuals meet nutrient and calorie needs and make positive eating choices.
What is USDA trying to accomplish?
• Provide an easy-to-understand icon that will help deliver a series of healthy eating messages
• Empower people with information they need to make healthy food choices.
You might be asking yourself, "What does the Average American plate look like?" Well, we have the answer.
Comparing the ideal proportions of MyPlate to those of the typical American diet is like holding MyPlate up to a fun-house mirror: The grains and protein categories are stretched out; fruits, vegetables, and dairy are shrunk down; and the plate—unlike the food pyramid—doesn’t even acknowledge the fats, oils, and sugar that are prevalent in the American diet.
The average man consumes about 50% fewer servings of fruits and dairy and 30% fewer servings of vegetables per day than the USDA recommends for a 2,000-calorie diet—even though the average Joe consumes about 2,500 calories a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Where do all those extra calories come from? A good chunk is empty calories—foods that are high in fat and sugar, but have very little nutritional value, aka, junk food.
The average American eats between three and four times more oil, fat, and sugar than the USDA recommends, but those ingredients aren’t considered a food group and don’t even have a place on MyPlate.
Originally Published By:
Progressive Grocer on December 13, 2011
Thumbnail Photo © 1995-2009 Healthwise accessed via Health.com on December 13, 2011
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