Analysis of the Article U.S. Introduces a Revised Food Pyramid by Marian Burros - Essay Example

Summary This article summarizes the article “U.S. Introduces a Revised Food Pyramid” written by Marian Burros (New York Times) on April 20, 2005 (Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture).At news conference, the Agricultural Secretary, Mike Johanns unveiled the 2005 version named as MyPyramid which was a guidance system in respect of food and nutrition. According to Mr. Johanns, MyPyramid is about the ability of Americans to personalize their approach when choosing a healthier lifestyle that balances nutrition and exercise”.

Later on, Mr. Johanns informed the media about the changes that has been brought in the 2005 version as compared to 1992 version. According to Mr. Johanns, that we needed to do a much better job of communicating the nutrition messages so that Americans could understand how to begin making positive changes in their lifestyles. And, of course, another thing is very obvious: the science has evolved since 1992, with additional research on issues including the nutritional content of foods and food consumption patterns.

 In 1992 pyramid, some vague and ambiguous guidelines were developed in which major focus was put on the usage of grains as the first priority. However, the use of fats, carbohydrates and sugar related diets were least prioritized. On the other hand, the 2005 pyramid improvised the nutrition guidelines a bit in which first priority of food consumption is allotted to fruits and vegetables and then followed by grains. The similarity still lies in the form last preference related to the consumption of fat, oily and sugar related items.

Other thing that is added in 2005 edition is that 12 versions are introduced as every person is different from other person in respect of eating and nutritional habits. So in order to fulfill every person’s most of nutritional requirements, a broad pyramid consisting of 12 versions is introduced. In the same news conference, Mr. Johanns introduced the media people with a fitness personality namely as Denise Austin to demonstrate the element of exercise in the nutritional guideline.However, according to some of the critics, this pyramid does not add too much value as it lacks substance.

According to Dr. Willett, Its somewhat disappointing that a lot of what was in the guidelines is not readily conveyed in what Ive seen so far. In the words of Dr. Marion Nestle, What theyve done is remove any of the eat-less suggestions. However, the new 2005 edition of pyramid showed significant convenience as the old 70-pages guidelines were summed up on a web portal in such a manner that the concerned consumer can easily find out the guidelines relating to his nutritional requirements. Another issue that is creating difficulties for Department of Agriculture is the shortage of budget to appropriately market the new pyramid version.

As a result, the implementation of these guidelines by general public is very difficult due to lack of awareness in this regard. The department contently markets this guideline through medical panels, physicians, nutritionists, dieticians and other health organizations.ReferencesBurros, Marian. (2005, April. 20). U.S. Introduces a Revised Food Pyramid. TheNew York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com