2010 Dietary Guidelines and MyPlate/MyPyramid

MyPlate/MyPyramid and the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans gives advice that promotes health and reduces risk of chronic diseases. These science-based guidelines from the federal government are intended for all people over the age of two years who live in the U.S.

Using MyPlate Along With MyPyramid -- If you've been wondering how to teach nutrition using MyPlate instead of or in addition to MyPyramid, this is the tip sheet for you.

On this site you will find:

• Resources for consumers about the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid
• Video, Slide show and supplementary materials
• One-side fact sheets for consumers that reinforce messages given in MyPyramid and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Resources for consumers about the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid:

• Graphic of the Modified MyPlate for Older Adults
• 8 page fact sheet, Steps to a Healthier You: A Summary of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Food Guide/MyPyramid.
• 4 page Leader's Guide, Steps to a Healthier You: A Summary of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Food Guide/MyPyramid.
• USDA's interactive web site gives personalized information about what and how much to eat.
• Learn how to use the MyPlate web site with this handout, Getting Started with MyPlate.
• Let's Eat for the Health of It, USDA's MyPlate mini poster. 
• An Eating Plan for You -- Advice for Adults lets you determine your personalized MyPyramid recommendations without using a computer. This 7 page booklet has charts and a fill-in-the-blanks color adaptation of materials from the interactive MyPyramid web site. An Eating Plan for You -- Advice for Teens is a similar booklet, but without as many charts.
• For any calorie level, use a fill-in-the-blank MyPyramid Worksheet (and a sample completed worksheet), a full-color daily food and physical activity diary adapted from materials on the MyPyramid web site.
• A Health-Full Plate is a 2 page visual guide for making food choices based on the proportions of food recommended for adults by MyPyramid (click here for Spanish version).
• My Food Shopping List is 2 pages with sections for each food group.
• A summary of Finding Your Way to a Healthier You, the advice given to consumers by the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Two pages, by K-State Research and Extension Human Nutrition. Click here if you want the summary that prints well in black and white.
• A brochure called Let's Eat for the Health of It helps consumers use the guidelines.
• Selected Messages for Consumers from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
• Executive Summary of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
• The2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
• The HealthierUS.gov website is a source of credible, accurate information to help Americans choose to live healthier lives.

Video, Slide Shows and supplementary materials:

• Sizing Up Portions - Slide show with 40 slides. Summarizes standard servings, based on the 2005 MyPyramid and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and gives ideas for how to estimate portions. It also shows how standard portions have increased over the past 20 years, with descriptions of how many more calories are in 10 current standard food portions and how long it would take to burn those extra calories doing a specific physical activity. The following food items are shown: bagel, muffin, popcorn, french fries, spaghetti and meatballs, pepperoni pizza, cheeseburger, soft drink, coffee and a chocolate chip cookie. (Available in Microsoft Powerpoint only.) Fact sheet #1: Sizing Up Portions is a one-sided fact sheet summarizing examples of everyday items that can be used to estimate portion sizes. Fact sheet #2: Our Changing Food Portions (this fact sheet is also available in Spanish) details how portions and the food supply have changed since the 1950's. This two-sided fact sheet is designed to be printed on legal size (8 1/2 x 14 inch) paper. Fact sheet #3: 100 Calories to Halt Weight Gain describes ways to trim calories from food, burn calories with physical activity and combinations of doing both. This one-sided fact sheet prints well on either letter - or legal-size paper.

One-sided fact sheets for consumers that reinforce messages given in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans:

• Mix Up Your Choices Within Each Food Group (Focus on fruits, Vary your vegetables, etc.)
• Eat Smart Away from Home when Traveling and Dining Out
• Fruits and Vegetables: Powerful Disease Preventers and Quick and Inexpensive Strategies for Eating More (see also our web site on Fruits and Vegetables)
• Calcium-rich Foods Calcium-rich Foods Shopping List
• Great Whole Grains (see also our web site on Whole Grains)
• What is Moderate Physical Activity, with Special Messages for Special Populations
• Ideas to Help Kids Move and Play
• The Family Shapes a Child's Healthy Weight
• Choosing the Most Nutritious Carbs
• Use the Nutrition Facts Label  Click here if you want the document that prints well in black and white.
• 12 Steps to Keeping Foods Safe

If you have questions about the information on this page, please contact Dr. Mary L. Meck Higgins, Ph.D., R.D., Extension Specialist and Associate Professor, K-State Research and Extension, Department of Human Nutrition, Rm. 202 Justin Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506. Phone: (785) 532-1671 FAX: (785) 532-1678, email: mhiggins@ksu.edu

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.