The familiar food guide pyramid that graced cafeteria walls, cereal boxes and doctors' offices has been replaced.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a 12-category version of food recommendations Tuesday. The guidelines now individualize daily intake by age, gender and activity level, said Dr. Eric Hentges, Executive Director of the department's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
"One of the key features here is in individualization," Hentges said. "The original pyramid was a concept of one size fits all - that was how the public saw it."
The remodeled version of the food guide model incorporates an interactive Web site with dietary guidelines, paths to an individual's food recommendations and tips to implement the new eating guidelines.
The old pyramid had high recognition but was not implemented in people's daily lives, Hentges said. Recommendations for children should be available in time for youth health educators to utilize them in the fall, he said.
Some local health professionals are encouraged by the new presentation.
This helps people understand the guidelines better by giving more details, said Diane Fischer, dietitian for Lansing's Sparrow Health Center.
"As registered dietitians, we've always felt there should be a personalized approached," Fischer said. "What works for one person might not work for the next."
She said she hoped the message about eating a wide variety of foods comes through to the public.
"Food is supposed to be fun," Fischer said.
Giving people guidelines is essential to finding a solution to the obesity problem, said Glenna DeJong, vice president of Education Programs for the Michigan Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports.
"I like the fact that they are including physical activity in the model."
Consumers should be able to understand cup measurement more easily than the term "serving size," which was used in the old pyramid, DeJong said.
But not everyone is thrilled about the new model.
This program creates an idea that balancing your diet should be like balancing a checkbook, said Ronda Bokram, Olin Health Center nutritionist.
"It's basically 'Dieting 101,'" Bokram said. "They're encouraging people to approach food like dieting, to feel guilty if you don't do these things."
No single model will take into account the reasons why people overeat, such as stress, Bokram said.
But the important part about this model is that people see that every person has a set daily calorie need, Hentges said. The past pyramid set calorie needs lower because it assumed people would lead sedentary lifestyles, he said, adding that at least two-thirds of the U.S. population is overweight.
"We are not a diet plan, we are an interpretation of the guidelines," Hentges said.
