The Food What?!

First, the USDA had the four basic food groups. Then, the basic food pyramid.

Then, the new and improved food pyramid, which included the importance of physical activity and whose design represented each person has individual needs within each food category.

And now, drum roll, please…the food plate chart!

Of course! It was the SHAPE that was confusing people! Now, obesity rates will decline. Why didn't they come up with that sooner?

If only it were that simple. It seems they are trying to make things more basic, when in reality, it makes it more complicated. It still leaves people wondering what their individual caloric needs are. And if you are trying to help someone lose weight and you have them go from binging daily to eating this amount of food, it will be difficult for them to stick with it because they will feel like they are starving. This can lead to even more overeating.

I agree that people need education. As one article pointed out, the rates of smoking declined greatly after education, advertising, and high taxation, so why wouldn’t the same be true of obesity rates? I’m not suggesting a tax on high calorie foods either (fat tax), although I have heard that idea tossed around more than once. There is no simple solution to change here.

The public need education, but they also need a desire to change. And they’re not going to get that from a food plate chart. That idea is absurd. I will eat my words if I am wrong, but I doubt that will be necessary.

Besides, no plates are equal. Is the government now going to implement standardized plates for everyone? People can still pile the food vertically anyway, and go back for seconds. Some people rarely use a plate. It also says to avoid over-sized portions, but a large part of the population would not get enough calories with this plate method.

More importantly, do you know anyone who has grains, protein, dairy, vegetables, fruit, and dairy for all three meals? I certainly don’t.

So thanks, but no thanks, USDA. I will stick to teaching my clients to pay attention to when they are hungry, when they are full, and if they are emotionally eating. I will teach them to have a variety and to have moderation in all things. And I will leave triangles and circles out of it for the most part, that is, unless the triangle is a pizza and the circle is a cookie. Because this dietitian believes that no one should be deprived of the good things in life.