User:Emmasandell/sandbox

MyPlate is the current nutrition guide published by the USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, and serves as a recommendation based off the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It replaced the USDA's MyPyramid guide on June 2, 2011, ending 19 years of USDA food pyramid diagrams. MyPlate is displayed on food packaging and used in nutrition education in the United States. The graphic depicts a place setting with a plate and glass divided into five food groups that are necessary parts of a healthy diet. This dietary recommendation combines an organized amount of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy. It is designed as a guideline for Americans to base their plate around in order to make the smartest possible food choices. ChooseMyPlate.gov helps individuals uncover the best variety of these 5 subgroups based off of their activity levels and personal characteristics.

Background
MyPlate is the latest nutrition guide from the USDA. The USDA's first dietary guidelines were published in 1894 by Dr. Wilbur Olin Atwater as a farmers' bulletin. Since then, the USDA has provided a variety of nutrition guides for the public, including the Basic 7 (1943–1956), the Basic Four (1956–1992), the Food Guide Pyramid (1992–2005), and MyPyramid (2005–2013).

Many other governments and organizations have created nutrition guides. Some, like the United Kingdom's Eatwell Plate, the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, and the American Diabetes Association's Create Your Plate system, also use plate diagrams.

In December 2018, the US Department of Agriculture released plans to modify the MyPlate limits on milk, sodium, school breakfast, and school lunch options.

Guidelines
MyPlate is divided into four sections of approximately 30 percent grains, 40 percent vegetables, 10 percent fruits and 20 percent protein, accompanied by a smaller circle representing dairy, such as a glass of milk or a yogurt cup.

MyPlate is supplemented with an additional recommendations, such as "Make half your plate fruits and vegetables", "Switch to 1% or skim milk", "Make at least half your grains whole", and "Vary your protein food choices." The guidelines also recommend portion control while still enjoying food, as well as reductions in sodium and sugar intakes.

“Making half your plate fruits and vegetables” is one of the strongest recommendations emphasized through MyPlate’s design. Many Americans fail to consume the proper number of fruits and vegetables or do not incorporate a variety of this particular food group. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines recommends increasing fruits and vegetable consumption due to the associated health benefits. Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, dietary fibers, and folate. These nutrients are further linked with health benefits such as protecting against a variety of diseases, promoting healthy aging, and lowering the risk of certain cancers. These prominent health benefits associated with fruits and vegetables explain the emphasis by MyPlate for making this food group take up half of one’s plate.

Not only are there significant benefits of increasing one’s fruit and vegetable intake, but including a variety within this food group is recommended by MyPlate. MyPlate suggests choosing from a mix of different colors of fruits and vegetables in order to maximize the intake of vitamins and minerals.

In unveiling MyPlate, First Lady Michelle Obama said, "Parents don't have the time to measure out exactly three ounces of chicken or to look up how much rice or broccoli is in a serving. ... But we do have time to take a look at our kids' plates. ... And as long as they're eating proper portions, as long as half of their meal is fruits and vegetables alongside their lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy, then we're good. It's as simple as that."

Michelle Obama’s and her Let’sMove! Initiative have targeted the MyPlate icon as a positive nutritional guideline to help reduce national obesity trends. The Let’sMove Initiative has the main goal of creating a healthy life for children in order to produce a healthier population in the future. Michelle Obama’s initiative has chosen to promote MyPlate and ChooseMyPlate.gov in order to help pursue the overall goal of lessening nation-wide obesity.

National strategic partners
The USDA has created partnerships with a number of organizations to help promote the messages of MyPlate and spread the reach as far and wide as possible. These partners consist of companies/organizations national in scope and reach that have agreed to "promote nutrition content in the context of the entirety of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans".

Reception
MyPlate was widely received as an improvement on the previous MyPyramid icon, which had been criticized as too abstract and confusing. The 50-percent emphasis on fruits and vegetables, as well as the simplicity and understandability of the plate image, were particularly praised.

Some critics said the protein section is unnecessary, given that protein is available from other food groups, and Americans on average already eat enough; however, meat would not fit in any of the other food groups. The dairy section was criticized by some as similarly dispensable. An additional critique was that the icon is too simple, missing opportunities for additional dietary advice, such as distinctions between healthy and unhealthy proteins or guidance on good fats and bad fats.

The Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) released their own adjusted and more detailed version of MyPlate, called the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate, in response. Harvard's plate features a higher ratio of vegetables to fruits, adds healthy oils to the recommendation, and balances healthy (type of) protein and whole grains as equal quarters of the plate, along with recommending water and suggesting sparing dairy consumption. HSPH Chair of the Department of Nutrition, Walter Willett, criticized MyPlate, saying: "unfortunately, like the earlier U.S. Department of Agriculture pyramids, MyPlate mixes science with the influence of powerful agricultural interests, which is not the recipe for healthy eating". The Harvard plate also contains a recommendation for physical activity.

According to Dr. Marion Nestle, former chair of the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, "There’s a great deal of money at stake in what these guidelines say." Talking about her work as an HHS and USDA expert, she said "I was told we could never say ‘eat less meat’ because USDA would not allow it."