Food-Based Models by MyPlate Across the World - Case Study Example

FOOD-BASED MODELS Location: Food-based Models Food-based models play a key role in boosting health diets across the world. Sufficient water and food are the basic human needs. The adequate intake of fat, protein, vitamins, minerals, water and carbohydrates is indispensable to allow for proper growth in humans, as well as to ensure preventing individuals from diseases. As such, the nutritional status of a person is an ideal reflection of the health status of a person. On the other hand, malnutrition has been a major issue of concern across the world (Caballero, Allen, and Prentice, 2005: 3). Also, over-nutrition has emerged as an issue of concern in the recent years due to its association with chronic diseases and obesity. However, malnutrition affects different regions to a greater extent, especially developing countries, whereas over-nutrition is prevalent in developed countries, such as the U.S. (Macera, 2010: 72). In fact, each day comprises of different actions that impact the dietary intake of individuals as well as the nutritional status. Different individuals have different dietary behaviors. However, poor nutrition comes as a result of the high cost of food, lack of knowledge about nutritional needs, and unavailability of nutritious food due to natural disasters and poor transport systems. It is the role of the government to educate the citizens so as to embrace healthy diet, and hence, improving their lives. Public health nutrition programs aim at enhancing the quality of life of the citizens through encouraging an ameliorated diet and nutritional status (Albert, 2007: 6). Besides educating the public on health diet, public health nutrition programs can provide nutritious foods to the public. In addition, the programs can raise awareness of the lack of nutritious foods in various parts of a nation, after which appropriate actions are taken to ensure the nutritious foods are made available across the nation. More importantly, food-based models are created by the policy makers, with the help of nutrition experts, so as to help the public lead a healthier life through good diet and nutrition (Andersson and Bryngelsson, 2007: 35). In this discussion, the utility of food-based models in promoting healthy diet will be delineated as well as a critical evaluation of MyPlate food based model in regard to its promotion of public health nutrition. Food based models, also referred to as Food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs), benefit the public to an unfathomable extent. FBDGs are conceived as government-sanctioned recommendations for the general public which categorically describe the appropriate balance of foods and beverages to be consumed with intent to promote and protect health (Alasfoor Rajab and Al-Rassasi, 2011: 2). Through the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization (WHO), FBDGs have been promoted throughout the world. Nonetheless, people in different countries have unique attributes including cultural traditions, food preferences, customs, consumption patterns, population structure, nutritional status, as well as the endowment of food commodities. In this regard, WHO has suggested that FBDGs should be developed at a national level in order to accommodate these significant differences among nations across the world. Moreover, a nation should review its FBDGs from time to time so as to incorporate the emerging scientific manifestation of diet and disease and the changes in the environment and diet of a target population. For instance, the U.S. first released its FBDGs in 1980 through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); however, subsequently have been relatively different owing to the changes in the environment and the diet patterns of people, as well as the amplified body of scientific evidence on nutrition and diseases (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2012). Intrinsically, FBDGs are not universal and are supposed to be upgraded from time to time in order to reflect the emerging situation in regard to diet and nutrition. Through FBDGs, the general population of a country derives a great deal of utility in regard to boosting health diet. Majorly, FBDGs educate the public on the right types and quantities of foods to consume so as to fulfill their nutritional needs. As such, the FBDGs instill scientifically proofed knowledge to the public. For instance, the general public gets to learn that nutritional needs ought to be met through food intake because foods furnish a plethora of nutrients that are beneficial to the health of an individual. Rather than consuming foods with specific nutrients, the general public comes to learn that nutrients interact differently when presented with foods. By describing the appropriate type and quantities of foods and beverages to be consumed by the general public, a habit of a healthy diet is developed (Hawkes, 2013). In fact, if scientific evidence has associated a certain disease to deficiencies of some given nutrients, the general public will take necessary action to add these deficient nutrients to their diet because nobody would wish to fall ill due to his or her ignorance. The habit of health diet leads to an improved nutrition and health status, something that leads to the general well-being of the general public. Additionally, FBDGs offer proper food handling recommendations to the general public with the aim of improving the nutritional value of foods. FBDGs educate the general public on how to maximize the nutritional utility of foods by processing, preparing and cooking them decently. In this regard, the FBDGs are based on the premises that a healthy diet does not only depend on the right type and proportion of intake, but also the handling of food plays a key role. For instance, some foods lose their nutritional value when overheated, whereas others vary in their nutritional value depending on the conditions in which they are stored under (Rogers, 2015). Also, the nutritional value of vegetables, for instance, is degraded if an individual chops them first before washing them instead of the other way round. However, FBDGs raise awareness of the appropriate ways of handling food, and this greatly impacts the efforts of the general public to lead a healthy life through health diet. In addition, FBDGs help the general public to prevent themselves from chronic diseases through embracing particular dietary patterns. Scientific evidence has shown that some dietary patterns can increase the chances or can lead to certain health problems, whereas others reduce the risk of specific diseases. For instance, excessive intake of foods that are rich in fats and sugars has been pointed out as the main cause of obesity and overweight problems. On the other hand, increasing the intake of vegetables and fruits drastically reduces the chances of chronic diseases, such as lung cancer. Even though science has not specifically identified the nutrients involved in preventing lung cancer, the FBDGs avail crucial information to the general public that helps in adopting a healthy diet (Keller I. & Lang, 2008: 872). On the flip side, the communication of the FBDGs across the world has been a major challenge in attempting to promote a healthy diet in several nations of the world. It is required that to enhance the understandability of the FBDGs among the general public, consumer-friendly formats have to be utilized. Several countries, such as the U.S. and Canada, have developed visual devices, including nutritional plates, circles, and pyramids. Currently, FBDGS are promoted through websites and posters as well as via education and health institutions, such as in South Africa. According to Sirichakwal (2011:479) mass media has been used to spread the word of FBDGs in countries like Thailand and India. Women, youth, and farmer unions have also served as channels to promote FBDGs in Vietnam (Tee, 2011: 460). Withal, the visual identity and this promotion channel are not enough in effectively promoting a healthy diet among the general public through FBDGs. As such, it is recommended that a comprehensive plan of implementation, assessment, monitoring and reformulation to complement the visual devices in order to fully tap the utility the general public derives from the FBDGS (Tanchoco, 2011: 468). Without doubt, FBDGs programs not operating in their potential. In the U.S., the USDA has developed MyPlate FBDGs to help the general public make smart choices in regard to food. MyPlate succeeds MyPyramid, which was criticized for its failure to link the knowledge on a healthy diet with the behavior of the Americans effectively (Shariatjafari, 2012: 261). Given this, My Plate is conceived as “a simple, yet powerful, visual cue to prompt consumers to think about their food choices across food groups and to build a healthy plate at meal times” (USDA and USDHHS, 2013: 15). Through its multimodal communication strategy, which consists of the My Plate Website, My Plate is capable of personalizing consumer education, food plans, partnership initiatives and social media engagement in order to disseminate the healthy diet message increasingly. MyPlate has been designed in such a way that it helps fill the gaps manifested by the predecessor, MyPyramid. In evaluating the effectiveness of MyPlate in meeting its ends, it has been designed for utmost understandability. Its major aim is to link knowledge about healthy diets and the actual behavior of Americans. As such, MyPlate has been effectively designed in the sense that it is easy to understand and delivers a series of healthy diet messages followed by the actions that the consumers should take thereof (USDA and USDHHS, 2013: 32). Besides, MyPlate empowers people with the requisite information to help them make smart diet choices. In this regard, MyPlate has played a great deal in promoting healthy diets among Americans. MyPlate has also put a lot of emphasis on visibility. It emerges as a visual cue to boost health plates during meal times. MyPlate categorizes the foods into five, including vegetables, grains, proteins, fruits and dairy (Levine, 2012: 3). By so doing, it is able to appeal to the consumer over and above providing adequate information on the nutritional value of each of the categories demonstrated. It also justifies the reasons for the variety of the nutritionally rich food categories in a single meal. Actually, the maximum visibility of MyPlate heightens the morale of the consumer to put into practice what he or she knows about healthy eating. Unlike the predecessor, MyPlate has an ideal interactive website that allows for feedback from the consumers and partners alike. The website provides educational resources for the consumer and allows for them to give their feedback and ask any questions pertaining to their diet. Besides, partners, such as educators, health professionals and other consumers who wish to spread the message considered through the platform created by the website (Levine, 2012: 2). Apparently, through encouraging consumers to give feedback and ask questions, they are motivated to embrace healthy diets as recommended by MyPlate. Additionally, by allowing not only experts, but also consumers to take part in spreading the word of healthy diets, other consumers will trust their fellow consumer and thusly adopt healthy eating habits. In the long run, MyPlate will improve the general well-being of Americans. In conclusion, food-based models, also known as Food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs), have a direct impact in boosting healthy diets in the general public. Through; recommending the ideal type and quantity of food to be consumed; suggesting the right procedures of handling food; and advocating for certain foods to reduce the risk of diseases, FBDGs offer a great deal of utility to the general public. MyPlate, for instance, put more focus on visibility, understandability and interactivity to promote the spread and to put into practice the message of healthy diets. Other nations should emulate the strategies of promoting FBDGs used utilized by the U.S.; otherwise, the general public will be full of knowledge on healthy eating but this will not manifest in their eating behaviors and habits. Bibliography Alasfoor, D., Rajab, H. & Al-Rassasi, B. (2011). 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