By Carly Schuna Updated November 19, 2018
The Food Guide Pyramid was far from a perfect model for healthy eating, but it did have some strengths. The U.S. Department of Agriculture introduced the pyramid graphic in 1992 after performing extensive consumer research on eating patterns and knowledge. The pyramid was then revamped in 2005 and replaced by a plate model in 2011, but many of its original advantages hold true in those updated models.
The Food Guide Pyramid emphasized the importance of eating a balanced, varied diet by depicting five main food groups: grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy products and other proteins, including meat, fish, beans, nuts and eggs. Included with each food group were recommended servings per day, which communicated the idea that it’s healthy to eat a variety of foods daily rather than getting most of your calories from just one or two of the groups -- a concept also communicated by the MyPlate guidelines.
The tip of the Food Guide Pyramid depicted fats, oils and sweets and recommended limiting them to 100 to 300 of your total daily calories. Although some fats, such as olive oil, have proven benefits for cardiovascular health, many Americans do eat unhealthier fats and sweets in excess, both of which can negatively affect heart health. In that regard, the recommendation to limit fats and sweets was valid.
Harvard School of Public Health’s nutrition researchers are quick to point out flaws in the Food Guide Pyramid, but they admit that the pyramid shape had a tremendous benefit in being clear and easy to understand. By using a pyramid, the USDA was able to immediately imply that foods near the bottom of the pyramid were “good” and should be major fixtures of most people’s diets, and foods nearer the tip of the pyramid were “bad” and should be limited or avoided.
The Food Guide Pyramid appealed to people’s visual interest by showing examples of foods that might be healthy choices from each main group. Although not all depictions were of equally healthy foods, many items shown were significant sources of essential vitamins and minerals. Some of the healthiest foods shown were whole-grain bread, milk, eggs, fish, nuts, beans, fresh fruits like apples and oranges, and fresh vegetables like broccoli and leafy greens. Seeing examples of what you “should” be eating helped you think about healthy meal planning and what to pick when you had more than one option.
Generations of Americans are accustomed to the food pyramid design, and it’s not going away. In fact, the Healthy Eating Pyramid and the Healthy Eating Plate (as well as the Kid’s Healthy Eating Plate) complement each other.
Consumers can think of the Healthy Eating Pyramid as a grocery list:
- The Healthy Eating Pyramid also addresses other aspects of a healthy lifestyle—exercise, weight control, vitamin D, and multivitamin supplements, and moderation in alcohol for people who drink—so it’s a useful tool for health professionals and health educators.
- The Healthy Eating Plate and the companion Healthy Eating Pyramid summarize the best dietary information available today. They aren’t set in stone, though, because nutrition researchers will undoubtedly turn up new information in the years ahead. The Healthy Eating Pyramid and the Healthy Eating Plate will change to reflect important new evidence.
A look back: Problems with the Food Guide Pyramid and MyPyramid
Translating nutrition advice into a colorful pyramid is great way to illustrate what foods make up a healthy diet. The shape immediately suggests that some foods are good and should be eaten often, and that others aren’t so good and should be eaten only occasionally. The layers represent major food groups that contribute to the total diet. The problem with the US government’s original Food Guide Pyramid, released in 1992, was that it conveyed the wrong dietary advice. And MyPyramid, its 2005 replacement, was vague and confusing.
MyPyramid, unveiled in 2005, was essentially the Food Guide Pyramid turned on its side, without any explanatory text. Six swaths of color swept from the apex of MyPyramid to the base: orange for grains, green for vegetables, red for fruits, a teeny band of yellow for oils, blue for milk, and purple for meat and beans. The widths suggested how much food a person should choose from each group. A band of stairs running up the side of the Pyramid, with a little stick figure chugging up it, served as a reminder of the importance of physical activity.
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The Healthy Eating Pyramid image on this Web site is owned by Harvard University. It may be downloaded and used without permission for educational and other non-commercial uses with proper attribution, including the following copyright notification and credit line:
Copyright © 2008. For more information about The Healthy Eating Pyramid, please see The Nutrition Source, Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, www.thenutritionsource.org, and and Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy, by Walter C. Willett, M.D., and Patrick J. Skerrett (2005), Free Press/Simon & Schuster Inc.”
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