Monday, March 26, 2012

My Plate vs. Your Plate

Written by Mary Kate Schaible
Part of National Nutrition Month 2012




As a dietetics student I have learned that “my plate” will not necessary resemble “your plate” or any average Americans’ plate. Dietetics students are their own species. We are incredibly aware of what foods go into our body, what that food is doing for our body. Since we are not an accurate representation of the average American diet, I think it would be interesting to explore what an average Americans’ plate would look like. 

According to Frazão (1996), a typical American diet is high in calories, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, salt and is low in high fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. A typical Americans’ plate would look nothing like the new 2011 my plate should look like. Half of the plate would not consist of fruits and vegetables, it would not consist of whole grains, it would not consist of lean proteins, and it would not contain low-fat dairy products.  With obesity on the rise, I think the time is now for typical Americans’ to start engaging in healthy life styles. 

I think MyPlate is a great way for Americans’ to become more aware of what they should be eating compared to what they have been eating. Whip your plate into shape and aim to fill half your plate with colorful fruits and vegetables and the other half with whole grains and lean protein. Your plate should look more like MyPlate. 

References

Frazão, E. (1996, January). The American diet: A costly health problem. Food Review, 19, 2-6.  


Tenpoundhammer. (Artist).  (2011).  USDA’s my plate vs. my real plate [Artwork].
Retrieved from: http://www.tenpoundhammer.com/2011/06/usdas-my-plate-vs-my-real-plate-pic.html



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