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BACK TO BASICS: ALL ABOUT MYPLATE FOOD GROUPS


Posted by Sarah Chang, MPH, RD, Nutritionist, Center for Nutrition Policy and
Promotion and Kristin Koegel, MBA, RD, Nutritionist, Center for Nutrition Policy
and Promotion in Food and Nutrition
Aug 03, 2021

MyPlate food guidance symbol is used to teach nutrition in schools.

Do you remember learning about the food groups in school? You may have been
taught using the Food Wheel, Food Guide Pyramid or MyPyramid depending on your
age. Kids today learn about the food groups from MyPlate. Now that the
back-to-school season is settling down, the nutritionists at MyPlate are
offering a back-to-basics refresher lesson on the food groups.

The Five Food Groups
As the MyPlate icon shows, the five food groups are Fruits, Vegetables, Grains,
Protein Foods, and Dairy. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
emphasizes the importance of an overall healthy eating pattern with all five
groups as key building blocks, plus oils. (While oils are not a food group, they
are emphasized as part of a healthy eating pattern because they are a major
source of essential fatty acids and vitamin E). Each food group includes a
variety of foods that are similar in nutritional makeup, and each group plays an
important role in an overall healthy eating pattern. Some of the food groups are
broken down further into subgroups to emphasize foods that are particularly good
sources of certain vitamins and minerals. For example, the subgroups within the
Grains Group encourage whole grains, which provide more fiber, magnesium, and
zinc than refined grains.


MyPlate food groups, subgroups, and sample foods table. Click to enlarge the
image

Purpose of Food Groups
As nutrition science has progressed over time, scientists have discovered
vitamins, minerals, and other components that make up our foods, and surely,
there are more yet to be discovered. Food groups simplify dietary
recommendations by focusing on foods instead of nutrients. For example, it’s
much easier to try to eat two cups of fruit a day than 75 milligrams of vitamin
C and 25 grams of fiber. The USDA Food Patterns provide the recommended amounts
of each food group and subgroup at 12 different calorie levels, ranging from
1,000 to 3,200. These patterns are developed using food pattern modeling. By
eating recommended amounts, individuals can meet their nutritional needs without
having to track dozens of individual nutrients.

Food Group Amounts
The USDA Food Patterns specify targets for each food group in cup equivalents
(for Fruits, Vegetables, and Dairy) and ounce equivalents (for Grains and
Protein Foods). Each pattern also includes a limited number of calories (8-19%)
that can be used in other ways, such as small amounts of added sugars and
saturated fats. Americans are encouraged to choose foods in their most nutrient
dense forms as often as possible, to keep added sugars and saturated fat intakes
each below 10 percent of total calorie intake.

Teaching the Food Groups
ChooseMyPlate.gov offers numerous food group-based nutrition education
resources, including tip sheets, videos, food group quizzes, infographics, and
more. Plus, MyPlate offers audience-specific resources as well. For example,
there are activity sheets, games, videos, and songs for children; activities for
families; healthy eating on a budget resources; and MiPlato tipsheets and
resources for Spanish speakers.

To learn more about MyPlate and to find out when new resources are available,
follow @MyPlate on Facebook(link is external) or Twitter(link is external) and
sign up for MyPlate email updates at ChooseMyPlate.gov/govdelivery(link is
external).


Sample MyPlate Plan available at ChooseMyPlate.gov/Checklist and click to
enlarge the image
Category/Topic: Food and Nutrition
Tags: Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion CNPP choosemyplate.gov MyPlate
#MyPlateMyWins Nutrition food groups Dietary Guidelines for Americans
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