Food Pyramids, Food Plates, and Other
Dietary Models
Cultural Modeling of Dietary Guidelines
Selected Examples, Notes and References
Each of the dietary models presented on this page is fully cited, with a brief
introduction or backgrounder excerpted from the source; additional links and PDFs
have been added to the excerpted content in most cases. Visual representations such
as these serve as conceptual and mnemonic devices to help educate consumers,
enabling them to make better informed dietary choices. Models of dietary guides
abound online. We have selected only a few for consideration here, but our list
continues to grow as we encounter innovative presentations.
USDA - USA
MyPyramid replaced by MyPlate
Harvard School of Public Health
Food Pyramid, and the new Healthy Eating
Plate
Health Canada's Food Guide
UK NHS - The eat well plate
Australia NHMRC
Food for Health: Dietary Guidelines for
Australians
EUFIC REVIEW 10/2009
Food-Based Dietary Guidelines in Europe
Germany DGE
Three-Dimensional Food Pyramid
Spain
La nueva Rueda de los Alimentos
China
Chinese Food Guide Pagoda
Japan
Food Guide Spinning Top: Balanced Food
Guide
Diet Pyramids developed by OLDWAYS
o Backgrounder
o Mediterranean Diet Pyramid
o Asian Diet Pyramid
o Latino Diet Pyramid
o Vegetarian Diet Pyramid
o The African Heritage Diet Pyramid
Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid
Joel Fuhrman's Nutritarian Food Pyramid
American Diabetes Association
Create Your Plate (video)
Joshua Wold's Vegan Pyramid
The Native American food pyramid
Mark Sisson — Primal Blueprint Food
Pyramid
Udo's Choice Food Pyramids
USDA
The United States Department of
Agriculture has archived MyPyramid, the
previous food guidance system that
featured dietary recommendations which
the Harvard School of Public Health (see
next) and many public health authorities
(see Oldways) criticized as "based on out-
of-date science and influenced by [...]
business interests". The newly launched
USDA offering is called MyPlate
(ChooseMyPlate.gov), and while it's an
improvement over MyPyramid, it doesn't
go far enough in the opinion of many.
Source: Getting Started with MyPlate
ChooseMyPlate.gov, USDA.
MyPlate is part of a larger
communications initiative based on 2010
Dietary Guidelines for Americans to help
consumers make better food choices.
MyPlate is designed to remind Americans
to eat healthfully; it is not intended to
change consumer behavior alone.
MyPlate illustrates the five food groups
using a familiar mealtime visual, a place
setting.
The website features practical
information and tips to help Americans
build healthier diets. It features selected
messages to help consumer focus on key
behaviors. Selected messages include:
Balancing Calories
o Enjoy your food, but eat less.
o Avoid oversized portions.
Foods to Increase
o Make half your plate fruits and
vegetables.
o Make at least half your grains whole
grains.
o Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.
Foods to Reduce
o Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals—and choose foods
with lower numbers.
o Drink water instead of sugary drinks.
ChooseMyPlate.gov includes much of the consumer and professional information
formerly found on MyPyramid.gov.
Harvard School of Public Health
Source: Healthy Eating Plate and Healthy Eating Pyramid
The Nutrition Source, Harvard School of Public Health (Last Accessed: 17 January
2012)
The pyramid model of food choices has been around for a long time, but as we read at
the Harvard School of Public Health, "[w]hen it's time for dinner, most of us eat off of
a plate", so the new visual is the Healthy Eating Plate, launched in September 2011.
A picture is worth a thousand words, and that's why nutritionists use symbols and
shapes to answer the question, “What should I eat?” For nearly two decades, the U.S.
government distilled its nutrition advice into pyramids. These efforts didn't accurately
show people what makes up a healthy diet. Why? Their recommendations were based
on out-of-date science and influenced by people with business interests in the
messages the icons sent. This year, the U.S. government scrapped its MyPyramid icon
in favor of the fruit-and-vegetable rich MyPlate — an improvement, yet one that still
doesn't go far enough to show people how to make the healthiest choices.
[...] The Healthy Eating Pyramid is a simple, trustworthy guide to choosing a
healthy diet. Its foundation is daily exercise and weight control, since these two
related elements strongly influence your chances of staying healthy. The Healthy
Eating Pyramid builds from there, showing that you should eat more foods from the
bottom part of the pyramid (vegetables, whole grains) and less from the top (red meat,
refined grains, potatoes, sugary drinks, and salt).
There are better alternatives: the new Healthy Eating Plate and the Healthy Eating
Pyramid, both built by faculty members in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard
School of Public Health, in conjunction with colleagues at Harvard Health
Publications. The Healthy Eating Plate fixes the flaws in USDA's MyPlate, just as the
Healthy Eating Pyramid rectifies the mistakes of the USDA's food pyramids. Both the
Healthy Eating Plate and the Healthy Eating Pyramid are based on the latest science
about how our food, drink, and activity choices affect our health — and are unaffected
by businesses and organizations with a stake in their messages.
The Healthy Eating Pyramid
When it's time for dinner, most of us eat off
of a plate. So think of the new Healthy
Eating Plate as blueprint for a typical
meal: Fill half your plate with produce—
colorful vegetables, the more varied the
better, and fruits. (Remember, potatoes and
French fries don't count as vegetables!)
Save a quarter of your plate for whole
grains. A healthy source of protein, such as
fish, poultry, beans, or nuts, can make up
the rest. The glass bottle is a reminder to
use healthy oils, like olive and canola, in
cooking, on salad, and at the table.
Complete your meal with a cup of water, or
if you like, tea or coffee with little or no sugar (not the milk or other dairy products
that the USDA's MyPlate recommends; limit milk/dairy products to one to two
servings per day). And that figure scampering across the bottom of the placemat? It's
your reminder that staying active is half of the secret to weight control. The other half
is eating a healthy diet with modest portions that meet your calorie needs—so be sure
you choose a plate that is not too large. [...]
Healthy Eating Plate vs. USDA's MyPlate
Source: Harvard School of Public Health
Accessed 17 January 2012.
Read frequently asked questions about the Healthy Eating Plate.
Read more about the Healthy Eating Plate and the Healthy Eating Pyramid.
Read the press release about the Healthy Eating Plate from September 14,
2011.
The Healthy Eating Plate - Harvard MyPlate - USDA
click for larger view
click for larger view
click to enlarge
Whole Grains Grains
The Healthy Eating Plate encourages consumers
to choose whole grains and limit refined grains,
since whole grains are much better for health. In
the body, refined grains like white bread and
white rice act just like sugar. Over time, eating too
much of these refined-grain foods can make it
harder to control weight and can raise the risk of
heart disease and diabetes. Read more about the
health benefits of whole grains.
MyPlate does not tell
consumers that whole grains are
better for health.
Healthy Protein Protein
The Healthy Eating Plate encourages consumers
to choose fish, poultry, beans or nuts, protein
sources that contain other healthful nutrients. It
encourages them to limit red meat and avoid
processed meat, since eating even small quantities
of these foods on a regular basis raises the risk of
heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, and weight
gain. Read more about the benefits of choosing
healthy protein.
MyPlate's protein section could
be filled by a hamburger or hot
dog; it offers no indication that
some high-protein foods are
healthier than others, or that red
and processed meat are
especially harmful to health.
Vegetables Vegetables
The Healthy Eating Plate encourages an abundant
variety of vegetables, since Americans are
particularly deficient in their vegetable
consumption—except for potatoes and French
fries. Potatoes are chock full of rapidly digested
starch, and they have the same effect on blood
MyPlate does not distinguish
between potatoes and other
vegetables.
sugar as refined grains and sweets, so limited
consumption is recommended. Read more about
the benefits of vegetables.
Fruits Fruits
The Healthy Eating Plate recommends eating a
colorful variety of fruits. Read more about the
benefits of fruits.
MyPlate also recommends
eating fruits.
Healthy Oils (Not included in MyPlate)
The Healthy Eating Plate depicts a bottle of
healthy oil, and it encourages consumers to use
olive, canola, and other plant oils in cooking, on
salads, and at the table. These healthy fats reduce
harmful cholesterol and are good for the heart,
and Americans don't consume enough of them
each day. It also recommends limiting butter and
avoiding trans fat. Read more about the benefits
of healthy fats and oils.
MyPlate is silent on fat, which
could steer consumers toward
the type of low-fat, high-
carbohydrate diet that makes it
harder to control weight and
worsens blood cholesterol
profiles.
Water Dairy
The Healthy Eating Plate encourages consumers
to drink water, since it's naturally calorie free, or
to try coffee and tea (with little or no sugar),
which are also great calorie-free alternatives.
(Questions about caffeine and kids? Read more.)
It advises consumers to avoid sugary drinks, since
these are major contributors to the obesity and
diabetes epidemics. It recommends limiting milk
and dairy to one to two servings per day, since
high intakes are associated with increased risk of
prostate cancer and possibly ovarian cancer; it
recommends limiting juice, even 100% fruit juice,
to just a small glass a day, because juice contains
as much sugar and as many calories as sugary
soda. Read more about healthy drinks and read
more about calcium, milk and health.
MyPlate recommends dairy at
every meal, even though there
is little if any evidence that high
dairy intakes protect against
osteoporosis, and there is
considerable evidence that too-
high intakes can be harmful.
MyPlate says nothing about
sugary drinks or juice.
Stay Active (Not included in MyPlate)
The figure scampering across the bottom of the
Healthy Eating Plate's placemat is a reminder that
staying active is half of the secret to weight
control. The other half is eating a healthy diet with
modest portions that meet your calorie needs.
There is no activity message on
MyPlate.
Read more about the benefits of staying active.
Health Canada's Food
Guide
Source: Eating Well with Canada's Food
Guide
Accessed 17 January 2012. Adapted.
Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide is
designed to help you and your family know
how much food you need, what types of
foods are better for you, and the importance
of physical activity in your day.
Having the amount and type of food
recommended and following the tips
included in Canada's Food Guide will help:
Meet your needs for vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
Reduce your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain
types of cancer and osteoporosis.
Contribute to your overall health and vitality.
Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide
UK — The eatwell plate
Source: The eatwell plate
NHS Choices, National Health Service, Department of Health, DirectGov, UK.
The eatwell plate - Department of Health in association with the Welsh Government,
the Scottish Government and the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland (2011)
Last Reviewed:15/04/2011. Accessed 19 January 2012. Link and PDF added.
The eatwell plate shows the different types of food we need to eat – and in what
proportions – to have a well balanced and healthy diet.
click to enlarge
It's a good idea to try to get this balance right every day, but you don't need to do it at
every meal. And you might find it easier to get the balance right over a longer period,
say a week.
Eating healthily is about about eating the right amount of food for your energy needs.
In England, most adults are either overweight or obese. This means many of us are
eating more than we need, and should eat and drink fewer calories in order to lose
weight.
Based on the eatwell plate, you should try to eat:
Plenty of fruit and vegetables
Did you know that we should be eating at least five portions of a variety of fruit
and veg every day. — More on five daily portions of fruit and veg
Plenty of potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy foods
Choose wholegrain varieties whenever you can. — More on starchy foods
Some milk and dairy foods — More on milk and dairy foods
Some meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein
More on meat | More on eggs | More on beans and pulses
Just a small amount of foods and drinks high in fat and/or sugar
More on fat | More on sugar
Try to choose options that are lower in salt when you can.
More on salt
Is the eatwell plate for me?
The eatwell plate applies to most people – whether they're a healthy weight or
overweight, whether they eat meat or are vegetarian, and no matter what their ethnic
origin.
However, it doesn't apply to children under the age of two because they have different
nutritional needs. Between the ages of two and five, children should gradually move to
eating the same foods as the rest of the family, in the proportions shown on the eatwell
plate. Find out more in Feeding your baby and Weaning and beyond in the Birth to
five guide.
Anyone with special dietary requirements or medical needs might want to check with
a registered dietitian whether the eatwell plate applies to them. [...]
Australia
Source: The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating
Healthy Active - Healthy Eating, Department of Health and Ageing, Australian
Government (2009) Accessed 19 January 2012. PDFs added. This first excerpt
provides background information. The poster below it, copyright 1998, remains in
use; it can be found on page 9 of the revised Food for Health - Dietary Guidelines for
Australians, which you'll find at the bottom of this section.
Download the 1998 booklet
→ Individual sections
The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating [Consumer Booklet, 1998], the national food
selection guide, provides consumers, health and education professionals and the food
industry with information about the amounts and types of food that need to be eaten
each day to get enough of the nutrients essential for good health and well-being. The
Guide is designed to suit most healthy people but may not be appropriate for people
with certain health problems. If you want advice that is individualised just for you,
you should see a dietitian.
A diet consistent with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating recommends people
consume a variety of foods across and within the five food groups and avoid foods
that contain too much added fat, salt and sugar. The Guide aims to promote healthy
eating habits throughout life, which will assist in reducing the risk of heath problems
in later life, such as heart disease, obesity and Type 2 Diabetes.
The Guide aims to encourage the consumption of a variety of foods from each of the
five food groups every day in proportions that are consistent with the Dietary
Guidelines for Australians. The five foods groups are:
Bread, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles
Vegetables, legumes
Fruit
Milk, yoghurt, cheese
Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes.
[...]
Review Process...
Source: Dietary Guidelines for all Australians
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australian Government
(Page reviewed: 10 January, 2012).
Accessed 19 January 2012.
[...]
Review of the Dietary Guidelines 2010/2012
We have reviewed the Dietary Guidelines to make sure that they are up-to-date and
reflect the latest knowledge on nutrition, diet and health. A draft of the Dietary
Guidelines has now been produced and is out for public comment. This revision of the
Dietary Guidelines has focused on food choice recommendations rather than on how
much of certain nutrients you should consume, which was the approach of the 2003
version of the Dietary Guidelines. To produce the draft Dietary Guidelines, NHMRC
has reviewed the following:
Core food groups: The scientific basis for developing nutrition education tools
(1994)
Dietary Guidelines for Australian Adults (2003)
Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents incorporating the Infant Feeding
Guidelines for Health Workers (2003)
Dietary Guidelines for Older Australians (1999)
The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (1998)
Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia incorporating The
Infant Feeding Guidelines for Health Workers
Dietary Guidelines for Australian Adults
Food for health (Poster)
Food for health -
Dietary Guidelines for Australians
Food for health -
Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents
Food for health -
Dietary Guidelines for Australian Adults
Communication Strategy - Foods for Infants
EUFIC — European Food Information Council
Source: Food-Based Dietary Guidelines in Europe
EUFIC REVIEW 10/2009.
Accessed 21 January 2012. This page shows many FBDG graphics from many
European countries.
The majority of European countries have some form of FBDG. The guidelines are
listed in Table 1 with information on their format and the advice covered. Nearly all
guidelines include advice about foods containing fat, foods containing sugar and the
consumption of fruits and vegetables. They also often contain advice on eating
protein-containing foods, foods rich in carbohydrates and dietary fibre, restricting salt,
taking enough fluids, controlling alcohol intake and body weight, and other aspects of
lifestyle such as getting enough physical activity and eating regular meals.
Occasionally they have advice on food hygiene.
Some countries, for example Italy and Denmark, have a list of food-based messages
[...] while others present their FBDG in different graphic formats. [...]
NOTE that some of the many FBDG graphics presented in this EUFIC Review 2009
have been superseded by others. Below, for example, are first the Belgian food
pyramid as it appears on the EUFIC Review page, and second, a 2011 version.
click to enlarge
click to enlarge
Table 1. European Food-Based Dietary Guidelines
* Food groups include: milk and milk products; meat, fish, eggs and alternatives;
fruits and vegetables; cereals, fats and sugary foods.
Country
Graphic
format
No. of food
groups*
(graphic
models) or
food
messages
Supportive information
Fluid, salt, specific
micronutrients
Lifestyle
Albania Pyramid 6 groups
Quantitative information for
each group
Advice on lower salt
intake
Advice on varied
diet, healthy BMI