The New Food Pyramid
The USDA the (US Department of agriculture) just
changed the famous food pyramid. The new guidelines take into consideration
various scientific studies that were done over the past few years.
These studies indicate that in addition to proper
nutrition it is necessary to live an active lifestyle.
The new guidelines are that we must
personalize our diets and exercises, based on our individual calorie
needs and our level of physical
activity.
The New Food Pyramid Colors
The design remained the same, but
instead of building blocks, the new symbol is a triangle divided
by six-different colored bands representing different food groups,
and has a set of steps beside it with a stick figure walking up
them to emphasize the need for exercise.
In the new food pyramid, the different
proportions of the various foods are shown by the different widths
of the bands with grains (orange) the largest, followed by dairy
(blue), vegetables (green), fruits (red), meat and beans (purple),
and fats, sugars and salt (yellow).
A New Interactive Website was Created by the USDA
The
new food pyramid , can be found on the new website where there
is an interactive site that visitors can enter their age, sex and
physical activity level to find out what and how much they should
eat for health, based on the 2005
Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
On the website there are various different tools that can be used
to compare foods eaten and the current nutrition guidelines.
The information can then be tailored
to an individual's desire to maintain their current weight or to
lose weight. In addition there are many tips
and resources how to integrate the new guidelines into living a
healthy lifestyle.
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