MyPlate Dietary Guidance Does Not Represent Typical Consumers’ Plates

The plates that sit on the tables of today’s consumers look very different than the nutritionally balanced quadrants of USDA’s new MyPlate dietary guidelines, according to The NPD Group market research company. In fact, only two percent of the average consumer’s days come close to resembling MyPlate, NPD found in its National Eating Trends (NET) research, which has tracked the eating and drinking habits of U.S. consumers for more than 30 years.

MyPlate days were calculated based on consumers who, on the same day, achieved at least 70 percent of the daily recommended intake for dairy, fruit, grains, proteins, and vegetables. When a MyPlate day is achieved, consumers are very likely to consume more than three meals a day.  

During a 2011 NPD-hosted event in Washington, D.C., Robert Post, deputy director at the USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, highlighted the new dietary guidelines. Among them were substituting solid fats with oils, increasing vegetable and dairy consumption, and switching out more refined grains in favor of whole grains. He said that the point is that everyone should be enjoying their meals but eating less, while still adhering to good nutritional guidelines.  

“We know, through our ongoing research, that consumers are more aware of what constitutes a healthy diet, but we also know that what they say and what they do when it comes to eating are often different,” said Darren Seifer, NPD food and beverage industry analyst. “Since the MyPlate program was just released last year, time will tell if it will have an effect on the way consumers eat, but it’s likely to be an up-hill battle.”