Posts Tagged: MyPlate

Nutrition Policy Institute urges USDA to make water “first for thirst”

UC experts say adding water to MyPlate graphic could help prevent childhood obesity

The U.S. government should promote plain drinking water as the beverage of choice, according to comments submitted today by the University of California's Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) at a public meeting for oral testimony on the Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. The institute also urged the U.S. Department
of Agriculture to add a symbol for water to its MyPlate graphic.

NPI experts said the government should employ strong language encouraging consumption of plain drinking water as a strategy in the fight against childhood obesity. Studies have established that Americans' single largest source of added sugars is sugar-sweetened beverages, that sugar-sweetened beverages are among the top sources of calories for U.S. children and teens, and that there are income and racial disparities in sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.

“It is clear from the evidence that a major contributor to obesity is sugary drinks,” said NPI Director Lorrene Ritchie. “And the healthiest alternative to sugary drinks is plain water.”

NPI noted that the Advisory Committee's 2015 scientific report said, “Strategies are needed to encourage the U.S. population to drink water when they are thirsty.” MyPlate – the infographic used by USDA to portray the recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans – is the “ideal platform” from which to encourage water consumption, according to NPI. In its comments, the institute said, “the addition of a water symbol will enable MyPlate to promote water consumption along with its other strong messages about a healthy diet.”

Ritchie said NPI is encouraging the public to join them in sending a message to the government. “Tell Washington to make water first for thirst and ask the USDA to reinforce it with an icon for water on MyPlate,” she said.

NPI developed a “Take Action!” page on its website with easy-to-follow guidelines for submitting comments on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The “Take Action!” web page is located at http://npi.ucanr.edu/water.

The Nutrition Policy Institute was created in 2014 by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, the division of the University of California system charged with sharing research-based information with the public about healthy communities, nutrition, agricultural production and environmental stewardship. The institute seeks to improve eating habits and reduce obesity, hunger and chronic disease risk in California children and their families and beyond. Visit NPI online at http://npi.ucanr.edu.

Scientists ask USDA to add water to MyPlate

The brightly colored divided plate that lays out the USDA's model for healthy eating needs one little tweak, says the director of the UC Nutrition Policy Institute Lorrene Ritchie. Don't take anything away, but add H20.

Ritchie has joined with dozens of nutrition and health professionals around the country to ask that the USDA put water onto MyPlate.

“We don't have all the answers to overcoming obesity, but the research on sugar-sweetened beverages is very clear,” Ritchie said. “When you drink beverages like soda, sports drinks or punch, the sugar gets absorbed very rapidly and the body doesn't recognize the calories. The result is excess calories and weight gain.”

The USDA introduced MyPlate in 2011 to reflect the message of its Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. Federal law requires that the guidelines be reviewed, updated and published every five years.

“USDA officials say that, in order to change MyPlate, there must be more information in the dietary guidelines about water,” Ritchie said. “We are working through the public comment process to ask the advisory board to promote water as the beverage of choice.”

The ultimate goal – a new water icon on MyPlate – is important because of its high visibility. MyPlate is found on elementary school classroom walls and cereal boxes; at community gardens and the grocery store produce aisle.

In preparing for a visit with USDA officials at their Washington, D.C., headquarters, Christina Hecht, UC Nutrition Policy Institute coordinator, asked UC Cooperative Extension specialists in California for input on MyPlate. Their enthusiasm was unanimous.

“They see MyPlate as the face of the dietary guidelines and are very supportive of using the image as a teaching tool,” Hecht said. “They also supported the idea of adding a symbol for water.”

She shared the California educators' thoughts on MyPlate with her USDA contacts. “When they get a story from the field, it really matters to them,” Hecht said.

Ritchie and her colleagues around the country submitted a “Best of Science” letter to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee imploring them to strengthen the language for drinking water.

“Current research indicates that children, in particular, are subject to ‘voluntary dehydration' from low intake of plain water,” the letter says. “Between 2005 and 2010, more than a quarter of children aged 4 to 13 years old in the U.S. did not have a drink of plain water on two consecutive days.”

Instead, they are drinking sugary beverages. National surveys in the early 2000s found that, on any given day, 84 percent of 2- to 5-year-old children drank sugar-sweetened beverages like sodas, sports drinks and fruit punch. The calories amounted to 11 percent of the children's total energy intake.

Since the 2010 Dietary Guidelines were issued, knowledge about the magnitude of risk and extent of adverse effects from sugar-sweetened beverages has increased. The Best of Science letter outlines for the advisory board many of the proven consequences of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in America:

• Sugar-sweetened beverages – including sodas, juice drinks, pre-sweetened tea and coffee drinks, and fortified or energy drinks – are among the top sources of calories for children and adolescents.
• Between the late 1960s and early 2000s the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages doubled.
• While the American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugars per day for women and 9 teaspoons per day for men, the average U.S. consumption is 17 teaspoons per day.
• Low-income populations have higher intakes of sugar-sweetened beveragesand Latino children drink more of them than white children.
• Cardiovascular disease, present in more than one-third of American adults, is now understood to be exacerbated by the inflammatory effects of excess sugar consumption.
• Excess sugar consumption is a risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a precursor to diabetes.

MyPlate revealed: One year later

One year ago in June, the USDA unveiled the new food icon, MyPlate. Based on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, MyPlate was created to remind us to make healthy choices at mealtime and to visit the website to get more information. This new, improved and simplified version of MyPyramid was an exciting development for dietitians like myself. No longer would we have to explain to the public what those abstract yet colorful bands represented on MyPyramid. The plate is simple and and gets right to the point, and is a great teaching tool in my opinion.

The beauty of MyPlate is that the graphic is simple, but the website is incredibly rich in information for the public and professionals alike. My favorite feature on the website is the SuperTracker, where you can get a personalized nutrition and physical activity plan. SuperTracker can become your virtual nutrition coach, urging you to meet your health goals through weekly emails.

There is also a great series of handouts called Ten Tips Nutrition Education Series. These free downloadable handouts are created in English and Spanish to help consumers get started toward a healthy diet. There are 20 different topics available now, and even more to come later.

In June, my colleague and I had the pleasure of presenting MyPlate resources and activities to home economics teachers attending a conference in Garden Grove, Calif. We encouraged the teachers to connect with their local UC Cooperative Extension office where the nutrition education professionals have developed creative MyPlate activities to supplement existing nutrition education curricula. 

I also knew the home economics teachers would be interested in Hunger Attack. Hunger Attack is part of the MoneyTalks for Teens financial literacy education series developed by UC Cooperative Extension's Consumer Economics specialist and advisors. This resource is designed to teach teens how to make healthier choices and to save money when shopping for food, and has been updated with the MyPlate icon. This resource is made available to educators by visiting the MoneyTalks for Teens website and requesting a password, or contacting the local UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program or Expanded Food & Nutrition Education (EFNEP) program, both operated by UC Cooperative Extension.

Here's to a successful first year with MyPlate and a job-well-done to the educators and nutrition professionals who have worked so hard to extend these valuable resources to our schools and communities! 

Beyond New Year's resolutions: tips for good health

Oh January 1^st, how I hate you.  If you’re like me you’re still recovering from the month long holiday food hangover.  With three months until spring and swimsuit season on the horizon, you’re feeling the pressure to lose the winter coat!  As always, you make that infamous New Year’s resolution: TO LOSE WEIGHT!  

How many people do you know, including yourself, who swear that this is the year…

“Gym membership here I come!”

“I will not touch another carb for the rest of the year!”

“No sweets ever again… after this one!”

“I’m on a new diet, I eat nothing and when I feel like I’m going to faint I eat a cube of cheese!”

Okay the last one is my favorite quote from the Devil Wear’s Prada, but working in the health field I have found that sometimes people actually think that’s a solution. We find ourselves making resolutions that eliminate entire food groups from our diets, because we think it will help us lose weight. The thing most people don’t know or realize is that sometimes the absolutes we make can be very harmful to our health, and in the long run can actually cause us to gain the weight back plus more.

So this year, let’s make an attainable, realistic goal. Here are three tips selected from www.choosemyplate.gov, to have a healthy year!

1. Put a positive spin on it – instead of saying “I can’t eat any sweets at all!” try a few “I will” statements on for size:

• I will add 1 serving of fruits and vegetables to each meal.

• I will make half of my grains whole.

• I will choose water or low-fat milk more often.

2. Build a healthy snack – instead of buying the expensive processed snacks, try these healthy tips:
   

   Fruit makes a great snack

Combine fruit and a dairy food for the morning munchies:

• Apple and cheese

• Banana and yogurt

Combine vegetables and a protein food for a p.m. pick-me-up:

• Celery and peanut butter

• Carrots and almonds

Combining these foods will help you stay fuller longer while increasing your nutrient consumption.

3. Don’t discount physical activity – being healthy isn’t about just what you eat.  Adults need 30 minutes of physical activity a day and children need 60 minutes.  Just because you don’t have a gym membership doesn’t mean you can’t be physically active.  Remember that 30 minutes can be broken up throughout the day.

Here are some tips to increase your physical activity incrementally, without breaking the bank:

• Start a walking club with your co-workers, neighbors or friends. You’re more likely to do it if someone keeps you accountable.

• Do what you like!  If you hate to run, don’t do it.  There’s no use in driving yourself crazy doing something you hate.  If you like to dance, then turn the radio up and have fun!

• Do stretches, exercises, or pedal a stationary bike while watching television.

Remember to always consult your physician before beginning a rigorous exercise regimen.

May your new year be full of realistic, attainable, resolutions! Keep it positive. Select healthy snacks that help you stay full longer. Get moving so you have more energy during the day.  For more information and health tips visit www.choosemyplate.gov.

Wishing you all a very healthy 2012!

UC Berkeley nutritionist welcomes MyPlate

USDA introduced MyPlate yesterday.

MyPyramid served as the USDA's food guide icon from 2005 to 2011.

The associate director of the UC Berkeley Center for Weight and Health, Gail Woodward-Lopez, said USDA's new food icon, MyPlate, is more in line with current nutrition science, according to The Bay Citizen.

"It has the potential to be more effective," Woodward-Lopez was quoted. "The pyramid involved counting the number of servings for the day. So when do you make that decision? When you go to bed at night?"

She said the plate in consistent with the Center's findings on obesity prevention for children and adults: "Lots of fruits and vegetables, less refined grains, don't overdo the protein."

Something interesting I've noticed about the news coverage of MyPlate - including the Bay Citizen story - is references to the pyramid it replaces. The original Food Guide Pyramid, introduced in 1992, was replaced by MyPyramid 2005. However, some journalists have ignored the six years of MyPyramid, declaring that MyPlate replaces the long-retired hierarchical Food Guide Pyramid.

See the CNN story (image below) for another example of this common misunderstanding.

 

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