A Custom-Fit Pyramid?

Custom fits may soon be the rage at USDA.

Until now, the USDA food guide pyramid has been based on a one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter approach.

“The Food Guide Pyramid was viewed as being for everybody, but it wasn’t related to the individual,” said Eric Hentges, executive director of the USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Health Promotion. “If people wanted to make a change, they didn’t see how they could use our food guidance to make the change.”

But times they are a-changin’. As USDA officials and experts begin updating the pyramid, they want to explore ways it can be tailored to individual needs. Visitors to the USDA may soon have the option of visiting an interactive site where they can enter all sorts of personal data about themselves – for example, how many carbohydrates, proteins they consume every day. Visitors also may be able to tailor their diet based on how many calories they burn a day through exercise.

Posted by Jim Langcuster at February 17, 2004 08:00 AM | TrackBack