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Table of Contents

Magill’s Medical Guide, 9th Edition

Food guide plate

by Carol A. Selden, , RD

Also known as: MyPlate

Anatomy or system affected: All

Specialties and related fields: Biochemistry, nutrition, preventive medicine, public health

Definition: An icon designed to remind consumers to make better food choices based on recommendations from Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010. Along with supporting information from the website ChooseMyPlate.gov, people can learn new eating and activity behaviors to enhance their overall health.

Key terms:

body mass index: A calculation based on the weight and height of adults or weight, height, and age of children that is generally an indicator of body fatness and is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to future health problems

nutrients: substances in food that provide energy and are required by the body to support growth and maintenance of life

overweight: weighing more than is generally considered healthy

obese: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines obese as adults with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of thirty or more, or children with a BMI above the ninety-fifth percentile for age

sedentary: spending a great deal of time seated, engaging in little physical activity

INTRODUCTION

Eating habits that provide excess energy but are lacking in certain nutrients and a sedentary lifestyle are associated with the major causes of chronic disease and death in adults, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. Poor eating habits and insufficient physical activity have also contributed to the current epidemic of overweight and obesity among young Ameri-cans. According to the CDC more than one-third of children and adolescents in the United States were overweight or obese in 2010, leading to concerns about immediate and long-term health effects in this population. Nutrition-related health concerns were addressed by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) in their systemic review of nutrition research, which was used, in combination with other scientific reports, to create the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 (DGA 2010). These guidelines are used to set federal nutrition policy and coordinate nutrition education for the American public.

In June 2011, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion issued updated food patterns based on the DGA 2010 and released the MyPlate icon and ChooseMyPlate.gov website. MyPlate replaced the previous Food Guide Pyramid. Critics of the Food Guide Pyramid claimed that it was confusing and difficult for people to use. The MyPlate food guide was developed with input from consumer focus groups and designed to be a visual cue linked to a more familiar mealtime symbol, the plate.

The Food Guide Plate is a simple illustration to remind people to eat healthfully. Five food groups are represented in the picture. The MyPlate icon consists of a plate divided into four parts, and a smaller circle at the top right of the plate, representing a beverage. The left half of the plate contains a red wedge labeled “Fruits” and below that, a slightly larger green wedge labeled “Vegetables.” The right half of the plate contains a purple wedge labeled “Protein” and above that a slightly larger brown wedge labeled “Grains.” The small blue circle is labeled “Dairy.” At the bottom of the icon is the web address “ChooseMyPlate.gov.”

The Food Guide Plate icon directs attention to the proportions of various types of food in meal planning, represented by the size of the divisions on the plate, and to variety by showing five basic food groups. It does not address other foods such as sweets and fats, nor directly teaches people to avoid excess energy intake. These topics and more details about the best food choices are addressed at the ChooseMyPlate.gov website.

Visitors to this website are guided through key messages to adopt eating patterns that meet nutrient needs without promoting overweight/obesity and to understand how foods and beverages can fit within a healthy eating pattern. Messages to “focus on fruits,” “vary your veggies,” “make at least half your grains whole,” “go lean with protein,” and, “get your calcium-rich foods” are supported with more detailed information. The website also contains recommendations concerning weight management and physical activity, and the Supertracker (a tool to plan, analyze, and track personal diet and exercise).

PERSPECTIVE AND PROSPECTS

The goal in early nutrition research was to identify essential nutrients in foods, aiming to eliminate nutritional deficiency diseases. In 1916, the USDA issued its first food guide, Food for Young Children, followed in 1917 by How to Select Food. Nutrition messages in that era focused on the selection of “protective food.”

By the 1940s, the USDA food guide had evolved into A Guide to Good Eating and included seven food groups with a recommended number of servings each day, although serving sizes were not specified. Various food guides developed over the next three decades, and they emphasized planning meals for nutritional adequacy.

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By the late 1970s cardiovascular disease mortality rates were at an all-time high. The American diet, high in total and saturated fat, contributed to this epidemic. Therefore, in 1977, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs recommended that dietary goals for Americans be established. The first Dietary Guidelines for Americans was issued in 1980 as a nineteen-page brochure containing seven guidelines for healthy people. Since then, food guides have taken a total diet approach, addressing both nutrient adequacy and moderation.

Though much of the dietary advice has not changed dramatically since 1980, the underlying scientific research has expanded extensively, and is being incorporated in the every-five-year updates of the DGA. The 2010 report was the first entirely evidence-based DGAC Report, and it included a systematic, detailed review of information from the USDA Nutrition Evidence Library and a ranking system that qualifies the amount and type of evidence available. It also addressed the epidemic of overweight and obesity in America and emphasized primary prevention of obesity before birth and during infancy and childhood as the most potentially effective method for reversing this problem.

As of 2013, the USDA had launched specific initiatives to teach healthy diet and activity behaviors to children (the MyPlate Kid’s Place) and to college students (MyPlate on Campus). Also, initiatives for older adults and children under age two are under development.

See also Exercise physiology; Malnutrition; Obesity; Obesity, childhood

For Further Information:

1 

Blake, Joan Salge. Nutrition and You, My Plate Edition. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Pearson Benjamin Cummings, 2012.

2 

Duyff, Roberta Larson. American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. 4th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2012.

3 

Suitor, Carol West, and Suzanne P. Murphy. “Chapter 13-Nutrition Guidelines to Maintain Health.” Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease. 3rd ed., edited by Ann M. Coulston, Carol J. Boushey, and Mario Ferruzzi. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Academic Press, 2012.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Selden, Carol A. "Food Guide Plate." Magill’s Medical Guide, 9th Edition, edited by Anubhav Agarwal,, Salem Press, 2022. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=MMG2022_0526.
APA 7th
Selden, C. A. (2022). Food guide plate. In A. Agarwal, (Ed.), Magill’s Medical Guide, 9th Edition. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Selden, Carol A. "Food Guide Plate." Edited by Anubhav Agarwal,. Magill’s Medical Guide, 9th Edition. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2022. Accessed September 16, 2025. online.salempress.com.