It replaced the old pyramid which many considered outdated and ineffective.
The new food pyramid is based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The overall concepts that this food pyramid wants to get across are personalization, physical activity, moderation, proportionality, variety and gradual improvement.
The most notable thing about this food pyramid, is that there is no food shown and exercise is emphasized.
Many critics of the new food pyramid commented on the lack of graphic representation of food in the nutrition icon. Those who designed the pyramid cited that they wanted to simplify the design so that it would not confuse consumers.
The pyramid itself is made up of six colored stripes each indicating a food group to be consumed.
The orange stripe represents grains;
Green represents vegetables;
Red stands for fruit;
Yellow is for fats and oils;
Blue is for the consumption of dairy products;
Purple is for the protein group.
Of course the man running up the stairs signifies, getting at least 30 minutes of exercise per day.
The new guidelines also recognized that no one diet is going to be appropriate for everyone, so they put together 12 different diet profiles based on age, gender and physical activity.
You can find out today which profile is best for you by registering free of charge to use the My Pyramid online tool.
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