USDA Simplifies Food Pyramid for Kids
The simplified graphics are linked on the Internet to an interactive game that USDA hopes will help kids avoid or combat obesity problems. The game permits kids to record both their food consumption and physical activity levels online, using a rocket ship as a metaphor – if the food is good the ship is able to take off, but if the food is bad it sputters and emits black smoke.
USDA introduced the revised pyramid for adults earlier this year, emphasizing the need for a more individualized approach to improving health through diet, exercise and overall lifestyle choices. The new vertically striped version uses the Internet to offer specific advice about how much and what kinds of foods the average person should eat each day, allowing consumers to log on, enter personal information and receive a food pyramid geared to their own needs.
The kids’ version essentially is a simplified version of the adult pyramid, with Internet connectivity geared to the interests of kids. It urges kids to fill up on fruit and vegetables, grab whole grains rather than processed cereals, bread and pasta, and to consume calcium-rich foods such as milk. It also urges kids to avoid fatty foods and fast foods, and instead choose lean meats and healthier oils. And, the pyramid urges kids to get at least an hour of physical activity each day.
According to the USDA website, “MyPyramid for Kids is designed to help combat obesity by encouraging children to make healthy eating and physical activity choices. On average, Americans do not eat enough dark green and orange vegetables, legumes, fruits, whole grains, and low fat milk products; they eat too many fats and caloric sweeteners. MyPyramid for Kids recommends eating more of the under-consumed foods and less solid fats, caloric sweeteners, and foods high in fat and sugars. By understanding and following the dietary guidance of MyPyramid, children may make choices that will lead to healthier lifestyles.”
While we suspect that most kids won’t find the rocket ship game on USDA’s site to be all that scintillating, at least not when compared to the computer and video games they play on a daily basis, this at least is a smart move by USDA to try and tailor its nutritional and health message to the younger set. But USDA can’t do it all by itself – it requires both the support and leadership of parents and school systems in trying to lead kids down a healthier lifestyle path.
It’s simple really. If we don’t eat in a healthier fashion and get enough exercise, we can hardly expect our kids to.
http://www.supermarketguru. com/page.cfm/16322
http://www.mypyramid.gov/kids/
The simplified graphics are linked on the Internet to an interactive game that USDA hopes will help kids avoid or combat obesity problems. The game permits kids to record both their food consumption and physical activity levels online, using a rocket ship as a metaphor – if the food is good the ship is able to take off, but if the food is bad it sputters and emits black smoke.
USDA introduced the revised pyramid for adults earlier this year, emphasizing the need for a more individualized approach to improving health through diet, exercise and overall lifestyle choices. The new vertically striped version uses the Internet to offer specific advice about how much and what kinds of foods the average person should eat each day, allowing consumers to log on, enter personal information and receive a food pyramid geared to their own needs.
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The kids’ version essentially is a simplified version of the adult pyramid, with Internet connectivity geared to the interests of kids. It urges kids to fill up on fruit and vegetables, grab whole grains rather than processed cereals, bread and pasta, and to consume calcium-rich foods such as milk. It also urges kids to avoid fatty foods and fast foods, and instead choose lean meats and healthier oils. And, the pyramid urges kids to get at least an hour of physical activity each day.
According to the USDA website, “MyPyramid for Kids is designed to help combat obesity by encouraging children to make healthy eating and physical activity choices. On average, Americans do not eat enough dark green and orange vegetables, legumes, fruits, whole grains, and low fat milk products; they eat too many fats and caloric sweeteners. MyPyramid for Kids recommends eating more of the under-consumed foods and less solid fats, caloric sweeteners, and foods high in fat and sugars. By understanding and following the dietary guidance of MyPyramid, children may make choices that will lead to healthier lifestyles.”
While we suspect that most kids won’t find the rocket ship game on USDA’s site to be all that scintillating, at least not when compared to the computer and video games they play on a daily basis, this at least is a smart move by USDA to try and tailor its nutritional and health message to the younger set. But USDA can’t do it all by itself – it requires both the support and leadership of parents and school systems in trying to lead kids down a healthier lifestyle path.
It’s simple really. If we don’t eat in a healthier fashion and get enough exercise, we can hardly expect our kids to.
http://www.supermarketguru. com/page.cfm/16322
http://www.mypyramid.gov/kids/
