quote:The ubiquitous Food Guide Pyramid that has been the centerpiece of the federal government's nutrition advice for more than a decade was officially declared dead Wednesday.
In its place, federal officials unveiled the final draft of their blueprint for nutrition, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, which even some staunch critics hailed as a breakthrough. It lays the groundwork for a new food pyramid, to be released in a month or two.
quote: Guide repackages old advice
quote: Despite Thompson's plugs for the dietary plan, it remained largely unclear how the federal government would convince the public to embrace the guidelines, which in essence repackage an age-old mantra: Exercise more and eat less.
quote: Federal officials also plan to unveil a new consumer-friendly food guide that will be based on the 2005 dietary guidelines and will replace the Food Guide Pyramid, which was released in 1992 and had remained unchanged. .
The pyramid has been sharply criticized by some nutritionists for lumping healthy food in the same category as unhealthy food, and for providing fuzzy guidance on how much Americans should eat.
yup, because all my weight problems stem from the fact that I followed the food guide pyramid
I like the emphasis on whole grains and actual ammounts instead of serving sizes. That will make it much easier for my students (an people in general) to grasp the concept of how much to eat a day.
Also the added time for exercise is a positive-
quote:PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
- To reduce the risk of chronic diseases, exercise at least 30 minutes at moderate intensity most days of the week.
- To prevent weight gain, increase exercise intensity and do 60 minutes per day. If trying to lose weight, increase exercise to up to 90 minutes per day.
posted
You know, if they beat the new design into kids heads with a very large club the same way they did the old one, there's a minor chance it will help out a little, maybe.
Especially when I moved into my own apartment, I would have little (tiny, almost undetectable, but present none the less) pangs of guilt for not getting the correct number of food group servings in my diet. I attribute that to the fact that the food pyramid was presented, over and over throughout my childhood, as the ultimate gold standard for life. And I have to say, it did cause me to eat a few extra veggies and grains (I decided in that phase that french fries count for both ).
So, theoretically, under the new regime, perhaps some poor hapless soul somewhere will feel guilt pangs for not exercising. Which I suppose, health wise, might not be a bad thing if it drives him or her to exercise (as long as the him or her is not me).
Posts: 186 | Registered: Dec 2000
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posted
Yeah, still no guidelines for sleep and according to the article, nothing about water consumption. Too bad. I think that both are essential.
Posts: 862 | Registered: Oct 2003
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quote: To prevent weight gain, increase exercise intensity and do 60 minutes per day. If trying to lose weight, increase exercise to up to 90 minutes per day.
90 minutes per day??? Who has that kind of time??? Posts: 957 | Registered: Aug 2002
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My personal theory on the exercise recommendations: when they recommended 30 minutes, we averaged 10-15, so if they recommend 90- maybe we'll do 30 Posts: 862 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
From a completely uninformed-in-the-US-perspective:
I think the position for kids has to be to advocate exercise. If sport is a regular, fun thing in a kids timetable that is going to do a great deal more (IMO) then that kid knowing the food pyramid.
Here in Australia a lot of public (as in state/local/free) primary schools underwent a trial where they made half an hour physical exercise mandatory each day. The results were staggering - not just in the kid's fitness, but in academic results, attention in class etc.
Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
I'll be really interested to see what the new version is. (Man, I just bought posters of the food pyramid to hang in our schoolroom, too!) The exercise thing seems overwhelming, though I'm sure it's a good idea - I don't even get close to 30 minutes a day of exercise, let alone 90! Eep!
Posts: 25 | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
Lucky4- I hated meat and dairy, but I would always complain to my mom about how I wasn't getting enough fruit and grains. She's hated the food pyramid for years now. Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
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Yay! Death to the old pyramid, in with the new!
My son was taught the food pyramid in school recently and proceeded to lecture me about how I wasn't following it. (I am eating fairly low-carb right now). I laughed.
quote: The pyramid has been sharply criticized by some nutritionists for lumping healthy food in the same category as unhealthy food, and for providing fuzzy guidance on how much Americans should eat.
I see this as problematic. On the base of the current food pyramid, you see a variety of breads and cereals. There is a picture of a muffin on there.
So my son says, "We should eat more muffins than anything else, Mom!"
posted
Most of the time, I still think in terms of the four food groups...isn't that terribly archaic? Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
At least it's a step in the right direction. They've been ignoring proper dietary guidelines for years in favor of plugging what their lobbyists make. Perhaps we'll see more honesty from now on.
posted
I believe its still a pyramid. *smile* I seem to remember seeing an article about it in one of my parenting magazines and it was just a new pyramid.
Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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O_o Crap. My roommate will have a fit. We had a short could-have-been-an-argument-but-I-didn't-let-it sometime last year about how the food pyramid is wrong, and she insisted it was right and that my mom was wrong.
I let it go, since I knew she was more knowledgable about what's supposed to be the right diet than me. Even though I still knew it didn't work for me. (shrug)
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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quote:Here in Australia a lot of public (as in state/local/free) primary schools underwent a trial where they made half an hour physical exercise mandatory each day. The results were staggering - not just in the kid's fitness, but in academic results, attention in class etc. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I wish more US schools were on board with this. With budget constraints and concerns about meeting NCLB standards, a lot of schoos are cutting phys ed to almost nothing.
Posts: 1021 | Registered: Sep 2004
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