How Large is the Plate?

I was asked to teach undergraduate students a course related to nutrition in health and illness during 2010 in a nursing program at a university at which I am affiliated. As you probably can guess, one of the backbones for patient teaching at that time was the MyPyramid Food Guidance System that was introduced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Center of Nutrition Policy and Promotion in 2005, which was modified from the original Food Guide Pyramid of 1992. One of the interesting facts that I learned while preparing for this course is that the United States government had begun publishing a guide related to protective foods and household food measures as early as 1916 (United States Department of Agriculture, Center for Nutritional Policy and Promotion, June, 2011a).

As obesity in childhood has continued to be an issue in the United States, I subscribe to email updates on this subject to monitor breakthroughs in new evidence related to this topic. Of course, the new “plate” concept was headlined in several newsfeeds related to nutrition when it was introduced this month (June, 2011). As I was raised (and here I’m showing my age) on the Basic 7 Food Groups (1940–1956) and my original nursing program included information related to the more compact Basic Four food groups (1956 through the mid-1980s), I was intrigued with the comparison of the old “wheels” versus the new “plate” as well as the transitions (or lack thereof) to and from the pyramid interlude between the two.

The original wheel (circa 1940s) was a bit complex, with two categories of fruits (citrus and “other vegetables and fruits”) and a separate category for butter and fortified margarine. Serving sizes were not defined at that time, nor were they even considered until the introduction of the 1984 Food Wheel. The 1984 Food Wheel merged fruits and vegetables into two categories and combined alcohol, fats and sweets into another, however it was complicated with categories for “dried peas and beans” (protein); the vegetables were further subdivided as “dark green,” “starchy” and “other;” and the “eggs, meat, poultry and fish” category also included a “nuts and seeds” subcategory. However, daily amounts (rather than the vague “servings”) of food were defined at three calorie levels (adequate, moderate and ideal) (Britten, Marcoe, Yamini, Davis, 2006).

The more familiar food pyramid was introduced in 1992, with specification of serving amounts for each level (Shaw, Fulton, Davis,& Hogbin, 1992). The updated 2005 MyPyramid was released with a MyPyramid for Kids, which replaced the 1992 Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children; a component of the 1992 Food Guide Pyramid (United States Department of Agriculture, Center for Nutritional Policy and Promotion, June 2011b).

Now we come to the MyPlate of 2011, which is actually drawn more like a “MyPlate” and “MyCup” place setting. As stated at the Choosemyplate.gov website, the three primary messages that the graphic was meant to convey were: 1) balancing calories, as indicated by the colored plate portions; 2) increasing the intake of certain foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and water; and 3) reducing the intake of whole milk, sugary beverages and sodium. At the time of this writing, the preschooler (ages 2–5 years) and “kids” (ages 6–11) sections of the choosemyplate.gov website were still featuring the MyPyramid as the basis for information.

Other than the message of balancing calories among the food groups, I’m not convinced that the rest of the intended messages have been conveyed by this newer graphic. In addition, the desired message of avoiding oversized portions, and of eating less, but enjoying food more is not clearly depicted. Although clicking on the website’s plate will bring the user to a definition of portion size in cups and ounces, the graphic itself does not convey the sense that the average plate size in the United States needs to be diminished considerably before the epidemic of obesity in children and adults can be curtailed. Perhaps the fork in the drawing needs to be enlarged considerably to convey that sense of proportion that seems to be so very needed in the age of “super-sized” servings and oversized dinner plates.

Jane Bliss-Holtz, DNSc, RN-BC

Editor