Thursday, September 29, 2005

New food pyramid is just for children

By Libby Quaid / Associated Press

Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- In the "MyPyramid Blast Off" game, kids load a rocket ship with the right combination of healthy foods: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lowfat or fat-free milk and lean meat. Load up with the wrong kind of fuel, or too much of it, and you can't blast off to Planet Power.

The computer game is a part of the Food Pyramid for kids, unveiled Wednesday as a new version of the government's guide to eating right for children 6-11 years old.

A food industry group beat the government to the punch: Weekly Reader newspaper delivered its own kids' pyramid curriculum, sponsored by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, to thousands of classrooms this week.

Both are based on the new pyramid for grown-ups that the government rolled out in April.

The kids' pyramid is more cartoonish, with a girl running up the steps to the top and kids playing sports, walking a dog, riding a bike, stretching, picnicking and even doing yoga.

Among the exercise tips for families: Center a birthday party on physical activity, doing backyard Olympics or relay races. Or set up a home gym with canned food and other household items as weights.

Like the adults' version, the kids' pyramid drew criticism for not going far enough.

"The materials don't even have the guts to urge kids to drink less soda pop, to eat less candy," said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Elizabeth Pivonka, a dietitian who heads the nonprofit Produce for Better Health Foundation, said the new kids' pyramid is a positive step, but more needs to be done, such as expanding a program operating in a few states that puts fresh fruits and vegetables in schools for free.