MyPlate? Few Americans Know or Heed US Nutrition Guide

November 29, 2022by Jonel Aleccia, Associated Press
MyPlate? Few Americans Know or Heed US Nutrition Guide
A sample plate of the food icon MyPlate, is unveiled at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, Thursday, June 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Here’s a quick quiz: What replaced the food pyramid, the government 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 ditched the pyramid, few Americans have heard of MyPlate, a dinner plate-shaped logo that emphasizes fruits and vegetables.

Only about 25% of adults were aware of MyPlate – and less than 10% had attempted to use the guidance, according to a study released Tuesday by the National Center for Health Statistics. Those figures for 2017-2020 showed only slight improvement from a similar survey done a few years earlier.

That means that the Obama administration program that costs about $3 million a year hasn’t reached most Americans, even as diet-related diseases such as 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 at the agency. “MyPlate should be doing a little bit better.”

The results are hardly surprising, said Marion Nestle, a food policy expert.

“Why would anyone expect otherwise?” she said in an email. “MyPlate never came with an education campaign, is old hat by now, only dealt with healthy foods, said nothing about unhealthy foods and is so far from what Americans actually eat as to seem unattainable.”

A top 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 extending its reach and making recipes and other materials more culturally relevant.

“We absolutely want to make sure that MyPlate and other critical tools are in the hands of more people,” said Stacy Dean, deputy undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services.

The new study found that people who rated their diet as excellent, very good or good were far more likely to have heard of MyPlate than those who said their diet was fair or poor. Of those who’d heard of the plan, about one-third tried to follow it, the study found.

MyPlate was introduced in 2011 with high-profile support from former first lady Michelle Obama, who made healthy eating and exercise her focus.

It uses a dinner plate with four colored sections for fruit, vegetables, grain and protein, with a smaller circle for dairy products, such as low-fat milk or yogurt. It encouraged Americans to make half of their meals fruits and vegetables in what was promoted as a fast, easily accessible format.

But the guide 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,” she said. “There’s no fats on there.”

Nor does MyPlate acknowledge that vegetables, grains and dairy foods also contain protein, Nestle added.

MyPlate replaced the USDA’s food pyramid, which was in use from 1992 to 2011. Although it was recognized by generations of schoolkids, nutritionists were critical of the pyramid for promoting too many carbohydrates through grains and cutting back on fats.

“It wasn’t the best set of recommendations on so many levels,” Surampudi said. “Our rates of diabetes didn’t go down. Our rates of obesity didn’t go down. It went up.”

The new study called for research into why some groups are less likely to be aware of and follow government guidance – and how best to reach those with poor diets.

But it’s tricky, Surampudi said. In general, people know now that they should eat more fruits and vegetables. Beyond that, the message gets muddled.

“The minute it gets a little confusing, people shut down,” she said.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

A+
a-
  • food pyramid
  • My Plate
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Food

    March 19, 2024
    by Jesse Zucker
    Spring Has Sprung! Time to Try These Seasonal Foods

    WASHINGTON — March 19 marks the first day of spring. We have more hours of daylight, slowly rising temperatures and... Read More

    WASHINGTON — March 19 marks the first day of spring. We have more hours of daylight, slowly rising temperatures and flowers beginning to bloom. With the winter frost (hopefully) behind us, certain fruits and vegetables are at their peak.  Eating seasonally can be a fun and... Read More

    Fewer Fish and More Algae? Scientists Seek to Understand Impacts of Historic Lack of Great Lakes Ice

    RACINE, Wis. (AP) — Michigan Tech University biologists have been observing a remote Lake Superior island's fragile wolf population every... Read More

    RACINE, Wis. (AP) — Michigan Tech University biologists have been observing a remote Lake Superior island's fragile wolf population every winter since 1958, but they had to cut this season's planned seven-week survey short after just two weeks. The ski plane they study the wolves from... Read More

    Candy Companies Pitch Gum as Stress Reliever and Concentration Aid to Revive Stale Sales

    Candy companies want to know: What will make Americans start chewing gum again? Gum’s bubble burst during the COVID-19 pandemic, when masks... Read More

    Candy companies want to know: What will make Americans start chewing gum again? Gum’s bubble burst during the COVID-19 pandemic, when masks and social distancing made bad breath less of a worry and fewer people spent on impulse buys. The number of packages of gum sold dropped by nearly a... Read More

    January 22, 2024
    by Jesse Zucker
    Do You Need to Cut Carbs to Be Healthy?

    WASHINGTON — Over the years, diet trends have come and gone. Every few decades, a new macronutrient becomes a villain.... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Over the years, diet trends have come and gone. Every few decades, a new macronutrient becomes a villain. Low-fat and fat-free products were once all the rage. Next, we moved into Atkin’s, keto, and paleo diets — all with one thing in common: cutting... Read More

    CDC Expands Warning About Charcuterie Meat Trays as Salmonella Cases Double

    AP — Federal health officials are expanding a warning about salmonella poisoning tied to charcuterie meat snack trays sold at Sam's... Read More

    AP — Federal health officials are expanding a warning about salmonella poisoning tied to charcuterie meat snack trays sold at Sam's Club and Costco stores. At least 47 people in 22 states have been sickened and 10 people have been hospitalized after eating Busseto brand and Fratelli... Read More

    Advocacy Groups Are Petitioning for the End of SNAP Interview Requirements

    NEW YORK (AP) — Student and legal advocacy groups are petitioning the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lift the interview... Read More

    NEW YORK (AP) — Student and legal advocacy groups are petitioning the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lift the interview requirement for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applicants to receive food aid. The groups argue the interview requirement is burdensome and prevents those who qualify for food aid from receiving... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top