Talk:Food pyramid (nutrition)

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Shouldn't there be some info on the new pyramid that the government is making right now?[edit]

It should come out sometime this year, and replace the current one. Sorry I don't have much info on it. jettofabulo 00:01, 2 Mar 2005 (UTC) well yeah donkeys do like to eat apples — Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.217.121.122 (talk) 05:54, 25 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Here's the new pyramid[edit]

Click on the link below to view an image of the 2009 Food Guide Pyramid, provided by AOL Search, a division of AOL LLC, owned by Time Warner Cable Communications, Inc.

  [[1]]

Other guides[edit]

   To find food guides for other countries around the world, go to AOL Search: "FOREIGN FOOD GUIDES."
This page appears to be about American guidelines from 2005. They are working on a new one for 2010. I think that the tag for other countries can come out and I'll remove it. -SusanLesch (talk) 03:12, 10 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Revert to way back...[edit]

The "food guide pyramid only" has to do with the one back in 1992. Nothing about MyPyramid should really be here. I think [this] revision is better than the current one. Anyone? --65.8.120.47 15:00, 4 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The new pyramid is actually 13 seperate dietary plans that incorperate the US NIH (National Institute Of Health) TLC Guidelines http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/cgi-bin/chd/step2intro.cgi (Exercise 30 minutes a day most days of the week consume X amount of Fat and consume less cholesterol). MyPyramid IS the new food pyramid. The old Pyramid is gone- and thankfully so as 1 set of healthy dietary guidlines is not possible with people of differing ages, heights, and physical activity levels. Under the old Pyramid if you did not exercise a miniumum of 90 minutes a week and fell within the guidlines for the average height for an US Citizen you would gain 10 pounds per week.

MyPyramid Tracker is part of the new Pyramid website that calculates your calorie needs from your weight and physical activity entries then makes serving guidlines and caloric intake recomendations along with tracking how much you eat each day and how much you exercise a day. It can track your food intake and break down your nutrient intake over a 1 year span and produces graphs with trendlines from your input. It uses 3 databases The USDA Food Nutritional Content Database http://199.133.10.140/codesearchwebapp/(t4q5rvqehn5aouikd1d1oq45)/codesearch.aspx , A Physical Activity Database, and compares those to a database of the USDA Recomendations. It is a very usefull tool- It has some problems; such as Calcium enriched Soy Milk is not a listed food (Only Non-Enriched Soy Milk which has 81 mg of Calcium where as most Soy Milk in the US Markets are Calcium Enriched and have 300-500 mg of Calcium ) and Soy Milk and other dairy analogs counts (Rice Milk, Almond Milk, Soy Cheese, Almond Cheese, Etc) as meat/bean instead of dairy.

It also figures your calories consumed vs your calories expended and can track that over a 1 year span so you can estimate your weight gain/loss.

Other than that it is a very usefull tool. Not quite as usefull as the ADA (American Diabetes Association) Rate your Plate tool (Each Plate should contain 1/2 Non-Starchy Veg, 1/4 Protien, and 1/4 Carbohydrate such as a Starchy Veg like Rice, Potatoes, Corn or Bread/Noodles) and Food Tables, but a very good tool.

-- I looked at the revision again. I think you are right except make a note saying the old pyramid is obsolete and has been replaced by the new MyPyramid guidlines.

Wikipedia pyramid[edit]

There should be no Wikipedia pyramid. Such a construct violates WP:NOR by default. Ikkyu2 06:01, 9 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Therefore, I removed it. ikkyu2 (talk) 17:22, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

To-do list[edit]

If we are making a Wikipedia Project, we put the to-do list on the project page, not the article itself. I've put that below.

However, this project is not appropriate for Wikipedia. Creating a new food pyramid is not editorial in scope; it is original research, which is not suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia. ikkyu2 (talk) 17:36, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I think a panel of non-biased reviewers should go through this article to remove what I believe to be politically charged statements introduced in the proteins area. I believe it reads too much along the lines of "Most people have now realized that meat is bad for you, and have started to eat meat alternatives".. Vegetarian diets are fine if people choose so for their own diet, but meat diets are also fine, and should not be discouraged. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.166.35.22 (talk) 17:50, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]


The Image Campaign - Battle of the Pyramids[edit]

The free Wikipedia Pyramid. Basically the graphical Harvard. (still under development)

Todo's

  • Standard serving sizes as guideline
  • Pictures for every space
  • Text - Captions for every space
  • A "plainer" colored version for print-out (black & white?)

Article degradation[edit]

I think the quality of this article has decreased significantly since, say, last December. [2] I find it a little discouraging. Wmahan. 20:00, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Food Pyramid[edit]

The food pyramid was actually invented by Adolf Hitler, and was stolen by Swedish sailor man named Avon Bigdikon Pents, then became a Swedish invention From 1974. I have organised the orignal rocordfiles from KF: Test kitchen by myself. There are historical archivfiles wich proves the food pyramid was introduced in Sweden 18 years before it arrived to U.S. The politician in Sweden disliked the Foodpyramid because they had introduced the foodcircle. any one who dislike or distrust this facts can come to Sweden and check my points. The Swedish gooverment arciv Rosenbad has open files for anyone who is intressted.

The foodpyramid was introduced in the magasin Vi 6-7 1974. It is availeble at many Libraries in Sweden and migt exist at a Swedish institute in US.

The american foodpyramid is based on the Swedish Foodpyramid but it is not an American Invention.

ok, checked that and found this link: A test kitchen was experimental kitchen looks like there was a swedish pyramide before, invented by cook book author Anna Britt Agnsäter Shaddim (talk) 20:13, 22 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Copyedit[edit]

Fruit and Veggies before Grains?[edit]

It is my belief that they have changed the food pyramid so that fruit and veggies is under grain, not the other way. however so far I have only seen grain under Fruit/veggies. Should this be updated or have I got it wrong?

Lacking details on serving sizes[edit]

This article's "serving size" link points to a page that just talks about how hard it is to state serving size. Specific amounts should be provided.

Up to 26 servings a day!!!! Were they trying to double the turnover of the food industry overnight or what? Carina22 01:37, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Just for fun[edit]

Extended content

A couple of years ago I started fooling around with the idea of a "food pyramid" as it might apply to the notoriously-bad dietary habits of fans at a convention. (I'm a US-based science fiction fan and I speak mostly from my experience there - but by reputation the same things applies to other regions and to other sorts of fans at their conventions.) A reduced-resolution version of my final pyramid appears on the Con*Stellation convention web site [3] if you want a giggle. YMMV of course. The relative "importance" of the various "food groups" on this parody pyramid is subject to debate and at least in part a matter of personal experience/preference. Mikek999 15:50, 22 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Off topic. - SummerPhD (talk) 22:35, 12 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Update?[edit]

Shouldn't we have this here? Supuhstar * § —Preceding signed but undated comment was added at 00:20, 4 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Someone needs to delete the bullet points right under where it talks about the new food pyramid- someone wrote examples like "thongs, dead bodies, recces puffs" Its funny but shouldnt be there —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.158.255.66 (talk) 16:11, 28 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Harvard proposes alcohol for health?[edit]

"the Healthy eating pyramid, which includes calcium and multi-vitamin supplements as well as moderate amounts of alcohol, as an alternative to the Food Guide Pyramid"

O RLY? I wasn't sure if this was vandalism or not, because I've heard a glass of red wine at dinner can be good for you, but I assume "moderate amounts" must be too much, and this summary which just talks about vitamin supplements and alcohol certainly can't be a good representation of the main article, which doesn't at all mention alcohol, and doesn't seem to primarily focus on supplements, or give extra weight to calcium supplements.Mister Magotchi (talk) 17:41, 10 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Food Groups[edit]

Why does "Food Groups" redirect here, but "food groups" goes to the Food groups page?--Pokélova (Pokémon Lover) (talk) 22:52, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Merge sections to MyPyramid?[edit]

Am I correct in my understanding that the subject of this article is food guide pyramids in general, while the MyPyramid article covers the USDA's pyramid in particular?

If so, it seems much of the information in this article duplicates the MyPyramid article and can be merged there. The "Controversy" section, in particular, covers criticism of the USDA's pyramid much more completely than the MyPyramid article does -- a section merge would benefit that article. A merge could also fix some neutrality and undue weight problems, such as references to the USDA's pyramid as "the" pyramid. The section on alternative pyramids is solid; I'll see if I can help expand and de-weasel it. Matt Fitzpatrick (talk) 04:09, 14 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hmm, I can see that merging would help some people to understand more about nutrition generally, but what you're talking about is like merging a universal item with a local, branded one which isn't exactly the same thing. It'd be like merging the burger page with the big mac page.

I know the food pyramid originated in America, but then it was used worldwide. The new MyPyramid doesn't represent food portions in the same way as the old one and therefore doesn't teach the same values as the old pyramid. The old pyramid clearly represented that more carbs be eaten and so on up the pyramid (I'm not even sure why the MyPyramid bothers to use a pyramid to represent, since it's not utilising the ready-made graphic representation of portions). So, even if the old pyramid is wrong by the standard of new science it definitely isn't the same as the new MyPyramid. What would probably be better is just having links back and forth to ensure all discussions are noticed by people on both pages. Smangesable (talk) 05:34, 13 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Controversy Section[edit]

I wonder if there has been any published evidence that the old pyramid, with its emphasis on eating huge amounts of carbohydrates in the form of bread rice and pasta has actually contributed to the fattest generations in US history? --MichaelGG (talk) 19:22, 31 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, see Good_Calories,_Bad_Calories#Dietary_science. Paul Studier (talk) 20:53, 31 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Shouldn't the "Controversy" section include at least a little bit of information regarding what the USDA and others say about how the current one was developed, how the studies were financed, and what interest groups have how much to say about what it ends up looking like. If the USDA insists that their stuff is scrupulously independent and science-based without a shred of sympathy for US agribusiness and food industry commercial interests, then let's at least have that voice heard with a link to the supporting evidence/write-up. Parl2001 (talk) 01:36, 10 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Very, very US-centric[edit]

As someone who have grown up with the food pyramid in the 70's, I think this article is a bit to US-centric and leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. It only presents US-made food pyramids and they are very different from tried-and-proved food pyramids used in other countries decades before any US food pyramid was constructed. (And is it just me, or are the US ones also unhealthy to follow?)

"Since 1992, the first well known pyramid by the USDA, several other countries and organizations published nutrition suggestions in pyramidal representation as well."

Yeah, right. Northern Europe (including Iceland and Greenland, the food pyramid have been in widespread use in the Nordic countries since the 70's and other Germanic language countries since the early 80's), a lot of Africa and Asia (spread to Africa and Asia by humanitarian aid from N. European countries and by former Asian and African students and refugees returning from N. Europe) don't exist. USA was a late adopter, but try to get the glory, as usual.

And isn't that MyPyramid just stupid. The original food pyramid (Kooperativa föreningen), illustrate the importance of eating different proportions of different food groups, even I could understand it as a 5 yr old (the concept of the food circle was a bit harder to understand), as do most of the other food pyramids. What the heck illustrates MyPyramid? It is impossible to understand at a glance. A food circle would be better if you don't stick with the original idea of a pyramid with food you need less of in the top, food you need more of/every day at the base (because the human mind is not made to understand different sized bands of colour forming complicated patterns). A food circle combined with the one third rule (or any of the analogue food rules used with other food circles then the Swedish one), is also easier to visualise on your plate as you eat, the food pyramid (a real one) is easier to use when you cook. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.210.238.151 (talk) 19:17, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

To be replaced in the US by food plate icon[edit]

Article needs to be updated to reflect recent news reports http://smartabouthealth.net/diet/2011/05/29/fda-to-trash-food-pyramid-use-food-plate-as-new-symbol/ Smiloid (talk) 18:51, 29 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Hey, could you please hold on until Thursday when the government plans to release it? Thank you. -SusanLesch (talk) 18:53, 29 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Note that any updates here should be minimal. When the new food plate icon comes out, it should get it's own article. Changes to this article should probably be limited to adding short paragraph that the pyramid was replaced with the reasons leading to its replacement, and minor copyediting to change tenses from present to past. - Wikipedia has an unfortunate recentism bias, and occasionally guts articles that are no longer current. That shouldn't happen. All the information on this page will still be relevant to the topic of "Food guide pyramid" in a week, just in a historical context rather than a present context. (I'm ranting a bit because the extent of Wikipedia's information on the "Four Food Groups" program that ran for close to forty years is apparently three sentences and a list in a subsection of this article. Just because a program is no longer current doesn't mean that Wikipedia shouldn't have an article about it. Although I realize that's more of a case that WP never had a decent article about the program, rather than having an article that was gutted.) -- 174.31.219.218 (talk) 15:37, 31 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

USDA 1992. Really?[edit]

It is not that I doubt that the USDA published their first food pyramid in 1992, it is that I am wondering: Where, then, did my early food pyramid education come from in the U.S.? I was in elementary school from 1975 to 1982 and I remember learning the food pyramid as pretty standard education during that time. Well before 1992. Sure, I also remember the "Basic Four" food groups that the USDA apparently was teaching at the time but I also remember fitting those groups into the pyramid (plus desserts and junk food at the top).

Does anyone else remember this? Should it not be noted when the food pyramid became prevalent in the U.S. education system if did indeed happen before 1992? I was in California for K through 3 and it was likely there I learned the pyramid but it might have also been in New Mexico after that. Perhaps the cereal companies were pushing it after Sweden introduced it? I did a Google Image search for food pyramids and I see a few that look simplistic and old enough to predate 1992. They are somewhat familiar but I cannot be sure. It is also possible that I learned this in Sunday School at an early age and got the source of it mixed up. While my church has taught food-pyramid-compatible doctrine since 1883, I believe it unlikely certain early memories of the food pyramid are from Sunday School.

juanitogan (talk) 15:29, 13 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I was in grade school from 1982 to 1989 and I definitely learned about the food pyramid in school. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.174.111.150 (talkcontribs) 13:55, 30 September 2012‎

The food pyramid discussed here did not exist prior to 1992, as reliable sources indicate. You either remember something else, misremember learning about it in high school or something else. - SummerPhD (talk) 14:46, 11 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Don't be so condescending. There was certainly some type of food pyramid long before the 1990s. I learned a version of the food pyramid in elementary school in California in the 1970s. My parents still have some of my elementary school artwook hanging in their basement. One of them is a food pyramid I painted with watercolors from ~1978. 108.16.253.48 (talk) 22:18, 25 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Inaccuracies in the current entries[edit]

I have seen evidence that the pyramid was developed in the 1950's by the USFDA. One of the key drivers was, not population health directly, but to promote eating more grains, as industrial agricultural methods had begun to create huge surpluses. I don't have the book in front of me, but I am pretty certain the notion that it was first developed in the 70 or even 80's is incorrect— Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.102.38.224 (talkcontribs) 13:42, April 11, 2014‎

We'll need to see some strong sources for that. Claims that the pyramid was influenced by various interest groups are reasonably well documented and discussed in reliable sources (e.g. <5% free sugars vs. <10%). Claims that huge changes contrary to the underlying science (e.g. your grain idea) are not documented in reliable sources and are at odds with the well-sourced information we do have. As such, they would be WP:FRINGE claims WP:MEDRS applies in this article in any case).
Independent reliable sources date this pyramid to 1992 for the reasons stated. Every dietary guideline you would care to mention is the subject of rumors and conspiracy theories that vary by the source: Vegan sources will point to a pro-dairy conspiracy, "all natural" sources will claim margarine is part of an anti-dairy conspiracy, vegetarians see a pro-meat conspiracy and so on and so on. As independent academic sources do not find material to support these claims (and often refute them), it becomes necessary for them to be part of the conspiracy. Any conspiracy theory threatened by data will grow the conspiracy to discredit the data. - SummerPhD (talk) 15:03, 11 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Content from DAB page[edit]

The following is taken from the disambiguation page "Food pyramid". It does not belong on a DAB page and so I have deleted it there and moved it here. It should probably be merged into the content of this page.

  • ... for example:
    • MyPyramid, the USDA's 2005 version of the food guide pyramid.
    • MyPlate, replaces the MyPyramid and was introduced by the USDA in 2011.

There are several well known food pyramids that are supposed to suggests the types and frequencies of foods that should be enjoyed for health. Food pyramids give a proportional representation as to the volume (by servings, or calories, or daily/weekly) of food from each of the various food groups a person should aim to eat, starting at the base that represents the majority of food to be eaten and progressing to the apex with the smallest area containing foods to be consumed sparingly. Food pyramids are simple messages on healthy eating aimed at the general public. Food plates are touted as an improvement over the food pyramid concept because plates are supposedly easier for non-readers to understand. The plate became the new USDA icon following criticism by the food industry and others of its original USDA food pyramid and revisions that followed. The USDA’s pyramids were criticized by nutritionists for being too heavily influenced by the meat and dairy industries and scientifically outdated. Others attacked the pyramids for being vague and confusing.[1]

  1. ^ Samuel J Biondo, Jack and Jill Spratt's Amazing Journey to Healthful Eating: An Explorer's Guide to Delicious Plant Based Diet Styles, Chapter 5, January 15, 2016, ISBN 978-0692612729

I hope someone can have a look and merge the appropriate information into this article. YBG (talk) 05:58, 12 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

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was it created do to food shortages then industry lobbying?[edit]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDJ-wVNbaIs One usually creditable researcher on YouTube claims things not currently listed in this article. What nations agree on what? What research do they have showing their information? Dream Focus 20:00, 30 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]