This commercial makes me laugh. It also makes me think about the things I love about my job. I love teaching kids about how to be healthy and I love hearing how much they already know. My favorite is when I get to spend time answering their questions. They can be very concerned about making good choices and I love that.
This last year they changed MyPyramid to ChooseMyPlate. It's been an interesting transition for me to figure out how to teach, and there are things I like and things I don't like. It's nice to have it be a plate, because it's something that you associate with food and the visual is nice, but other than that I miss the pyramid. I miss how the new pyramid got smaller at the top, you know, since it was a pyramid? I would teach about how the healthy foods in each group went towards the bottom and the less healthy foods went towards the top. So cookies and cakes were at the top of the grains group where it is small and you shouldn't eat very much of them. Then we put whole grain food like whole wheat bread and brown rice at the bottom and you should eat lots of those foods. I liked the visual of how the pyramid was a rainbow of all the foods that helped you keep in mind eating variety.
I also am not a fan of the change of the name of the Meat and Beans group to the Protein group. Dairy foods are really high in protein too, so that is confusing, especially to kids. Also protein is a nutrient, not a food group. It provides energy to the body along with carbohydrates and fats. Those foods tend to also be high in fat. We could just as easily call it the Fat group. That might help people eat less of those foods. :) On that note, I think the Protein group looks too big on the plate. I liked on the pyramid how the meat and beans group was obviously the smallest, since this is a food group American's tend to overeat. Having it look so small was a reminder to eat less.
Last thing, what about exercise? I loved the addition to the pyramid of the stairs. I liked visually tying exercise and food together and making people realize that food AND exercise were both needed for good nutrition. I miss that little person walking and giving the pyramid a third dimension. Maybe I can tell the kids that's what the fork represents. I get that question a lot. :)
2 comments:
i agree, the pyramid is much better. everything on the plate looks to be about the same amount- it's confusing.
I love that commercial...Spanish! Ha! And I concur, the plate it lame. There I said it. But it's what we got so we might as well make it work. PS...what was the question about with the cherries the other day? Did some one try to convince you they were vegetables again?!
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