MyPyramid.gov – United States Department of Agriculture – Home

[sigh] Apparently the old food peramid was too “complicated” for people to understand. The USDA has a new one now. One that is (apparently) far easier for the average American (read: Idiot) to comprehend.

Lets take a brief look at the two.

Here is the OLD pyramid:

And here is the NEW pyramid:

Mmhmm… i can definatly see how the new one is better [roll eyes]. Perhaps i’m just dumber than everyone else. For me, the old pyramid made compleate sence: the foods you should eat more of made up the base of the pyramid, and as you go up, each level gets smaller, as do the portions of food each level represented, until you got to the very tip, where shugars should be used in moderation. Seemed simple enough to me.

Now, however, they have this ‘vertical’ pyramid. It has bands that run from top to bottom… what’s that all about? How do bands running from top to bottom help show what should form the base of your diet? [shakes head] The only thing about this new one that i like is that they are trying to make regular excersise an important part of everyones lifestyle. That is a good thing. But the running figure could have just as esily run up the side of the old pyramid. But, whatever.

I think this new pyramid is harder to understand. It just isn’t clear by glancing at it, what groups are the most important (according to the USDA) for your diet. You have to sit there and measure the bands almost. [shrug]

Recognising that nutritional needs are different for different people, they have a nifty little thing where you input some information and they give you a more taliored version of your nutritional requierments. Mind you, this is not the same as going to a nutritionist to get a custom nutrition plan, but it at least nods to the fact that people are different. So i guess we can put that into the ‘good thing’ pile as well.