Information for Health Care Professionals

Current Materials - MyPlate

MyPlate Community Toolkit — USDA and First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative developed a toolkit for communities to get involved in reversing the trend of childhood obesity.

MyPlate on Food Labels — Guidance on use of USDA's MyPlate and statements about amounts of food groups contributed by foods on food product labels

MyPlate Graphics Standards — Style guide and conditions of use for the icon

Getting Started with MyPlate — Begin here to learn about the new icon and website.

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.

A Brief History of USDA Food Guides — For almost 100 years, USDA has been providing food guidance to American consumers.

Dietary Guidelines Communications Message Calendar, September 2011- December 2013 — The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are the foundation for Federal dietary guidance promotion and education efforts aimed at improving America's health and reversing obesity and chronic diet-related diseases.

Selected messages — Seven key consumer messages from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Executive Summary of Formative Research — This summarizes the development of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans consumer messages and MyPlate.

Dietary Guidelines 2010 Consumer Brochure* — Let's Eat for the Health of It... Build a healthy plate. Cut back on foods high in solid fats, added sugars, and salt. Eat the right amount of calories for you. Be physically active your way.

Sample menus at 2000 calorie level — Current with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, these menus give an example of how all of the recommendations for food group and nutrient intake can be integrated into a weekly menu.

Food Group Recipes — Fifteen recipes (3 from each food group) complete with basic nutritional analyses and food group amounts.

More Recipes — Recipes from the First Lady's Let's Move! campaign, recipes from EatingWell, and recipes from the Recipes for Healthy Kids Challenge.

Daily Food Plans for individuals are based on their sex, age, and activity level.

Click here for other press, print, and digital materials related to MyPlate and the SuperTracker.

Archived Materials — MyPyramid

Federal Nutrition Education Resources from January 2005 to February 2010

This document provides a comprehensive compilation, with active links, of currently available federally published nutrition education resources. All items have been approved through the joint HHS and USDA Dietary Guidance Review process and provide federal nutrition recommendations based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005. This document was developed by HHS/ODPHP and USDA/CNPP.[PDF] [TXT]

The MyPyramid Web site provides information specifically for professionals, in addition to the content for consumers.

In 2010, the USDA's Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services launched Apps for Healthy Kids competition — a call to American entrepreneurs, software developers, and students to use the recently released Nutrition Dataset to create innovative and creative web-based learning applications that motivate children, especially "tweens" (aged 9-12), to eat healthier.

Rate What YOU Ate: Using the MyPyramid Menu Planner provides three session outlines to show teens how to use the MyPyramid Menu Planner to: 1) see if they are getting the types and amounts of foods they need; 2) discover if they are getting too many added sugars, solid fats, and calories; and 3) explore ways to improve their food choices. Rate What YOU Ate is a companion resource to show students how to apply ideas found in Team Nutrition's Nutrition Essentials; Teaching Tools for Healthy Choices. [PDF]

Earn CPE Units!

Registered Dietitians (RDs) and Dietetic Technicians, Registered (DTRs) can earn Continuing Professional Education Units for observing the proceedings of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) via the live webinars or by reviewing and discussing materials of past meetings. PDF

Development of MyPyramid

A multiyear, multiple component research process was undertaken to revise the original Food Guide Pyramid and to develop the MyPyramid Food Guidance System. This research has been documented in a number of articles published as a supplement to the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior in November/December 2006. With the permission of the Journal and the Society for Nutrition Education, you can access and print these articles from this website. If you would like a free copy of this journal issue, please contact us at Support@cnpp.usda.gov.

MyPyramid — USDA's New Food Guidance System peer-to-peer PowerPoint presentation. This 61-slide presentation was developed for you and your colleagues to educate others within the nutrition field. It details the background and development of MyPyramid and is organized into three sections: Development of the MyPyramid food intake patterns, development of MyPyramid consumer messages and materials, and using MyPyramid materials. [PowerPoint Note: This is a large file (11MB)]

Education framework that provides key concepts of the MyPyramid food guidance system. These key concepts are not intended as direct consumer messages, but rather as a framework of ideas from which professionals can develop consumer messages and materials. [PDF] [TEXT]

MyPyramid Food Intake Patterns that identify what and how much food an individual should eat for health. The amounts to eat are based on a person's age, sex, and activity level. [PDF] [TEXT]

Food Intake Pattern Calorie Levels that identify the calorie level assigned to an individual in the MyPyramid Plan, based on their sex, age, and activity level. [PDF] [TEXT]

Also, you can download/print the MyPyramid Calorie Results and the Food Tracking Worksheets for any or all of the 12 calorie levels.   Sample menu at 2000 calorie level ? Current with the 2005 [not 2010] Dietary Guidelines for Americans, these menus give an example of how all of the recommendations for food group and nutrient intake can be integrated into a weekly menu. [PDF] [TXT]

Your Personal Path to Health: Steps to a Healthier You! is a collaborative effort between USDA and its partners. This consumer brochure provides tips and healthful advice to use MyPyramid to "start you down your path to good health." [PDF]