06 Jun First Lady introduces new Food Plate

What should people ideally be eating ever day?
The government has re-designed its recommended menu by doing away with the longtime food pyramid and replacing it with a new symbol designed to look like a plate.
First Lady Michelle Obama introduced the new Food Plate June 2.
The U.S. agriculture Department did away with the triangular food pyramid in favor of the Food Plate, with an emphasis that people should fill up with fruits and veggies.
“As long as they’re half full of fruits and vegetables and paired with lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy, we’re golden,” First Lady Michelle Obama told reporters.
The basic white Food Plate is paired with a smaller white plate that the feds say is reserved for dairy, such as a cup of milk or a container for yogurt.
The food pyramid, which was introduced in 1992, was too confusing for many consumers.
The icon, MyPlate, still features colors: a green triangle for veggies, red for fruits, orange for grains, purple for protein and blue for dairy.
People are encouraged to avoid oversized portions, make half their plates fruits and vegetables, choose water over sugary drinks and switch to fat-free or low-fat milk.
“The plate is something people can understand, especially if it actually teaches people what and how much to eat,” dietitian Elizabeth Ward told USA Today. “It ought to be much more useful for people to relate to.”
This is a big step in Michelle Obama’s effort to get people to eat better, especially children who have an alarmingly growing rate of obesity.
“As a mom, I can already tell how much this is going to help parents across the country,” Obama said.
For more on the new food plate, go to choosemyplate.gov.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com