A new view of healthy eating habits in NMI

A new Food Guide Pyramid will be replacing the Commonwealth’s original food guide, updating the requirements for what it takes to have healthy dietary habits in the CNMI, according to the Northern Marianas College, Cooperative Research, Extension and Education Services Program for Family and Consumer Sciences.

NMC-CREES FCS Programs and CRD program manager Margarita Diaz Tudela said the new USDA Food Guidance System was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion and will replace the original Food Guide Pyramid.

She said the new guide is now called “MyPyramid,” replacing the old guide that was developed and approved for educational presentations back in 1992.

Tudela said the college would conduct several small group workshops to introduce the new food guide pyramid to the public next month. She said they would also reach out to the Public School System to introduce the new guide.

She said the USDA has had a long history with food guidance dating back into the early 20th century. Looking back over this history, many different food guides have been used. They represented health and nutrition concerns of the time when they were introduced, she said.

Tudela said that in the ’40s the wartime food guide promoted eating foods that provided the vitamins and minerals needed to prevent deficiencies; in the ’50s-’60s the seven food groups were simplified into a “Food for Fitness” guide, which was commonly called “The Basic Four.” By late ’70s, concerns about dietary excesses led the USDA to issue “The Hassle-Free Daily Food Guide,” which included a “caution” group of fats, sweets, and alcohol.

“All of these food guides preceded the introduction of the original Food Guide Pyramid in 1992,” Tudela said.

The new MyPyramid was released in April 2005, Tudela said. It retains all the food groups from the original Pyramid, but also includes a graphic representation of physical activity that is an important additional recommendation for a healthy way of life.

Tudela added that one reason the food guidance system was revised was to ensure that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food guidance system reflected the latest nutritional science.

The new food guide pyramid also intends to help consumers more effectively put the guidance into action.

“The new food guidance system is made up of motivational and educational tools,” she said.

The motivational tools are the new graphic and the slogan of the food guide pyramid. The educational tools include the education framework, consumer messages, print materials, a website with detailed nutrition information, as well as interactive tools to help consumers personalize their diets.

For more information on the new MyPyramid, contact the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program acting coordinator, Patricia Coleman, at 234-5498 Ext. 1710 or 1711.