Backgrounder : The Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children

                                            Release No. 0126.99
Backgrounder

                                
           The Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children

     To help improve the diets of young children two to six years old, USDA has developed
the Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children.  This "new" Pyramid is an adaptation of the
original Food Guide Pyramid, released in 1992, to simplify the educational messages and focus
on young children's food preferences and nutritional requirements.  

     Young children have unique food patterns and needs in comparison to older children and
adults.  Also, many young children are not eating healthful diets, and nutritionists know that early
food experiences are crucial to food preferences and patterns throughout life.  

Changes Made

     The graphic and messages in the Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children have been
made easier to understand and more appropriate for this audience of two- to six-year-old
children, their parents, and their caregivers.  The graphic shows foods that are commonly eaten
by young children, drawn in a realistic style, and shown in single serving sizes when possible. 
The food group names have been shortened to simplify them, and the number of servings
recommended is a single number rather than a range. 

     The key message in the Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children is that eating a variety
of foods is healthy. The Pyramid is surrounded with illustrations of children engaged in active
pursuits, to show the importance of physical activity.

Development

     The Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children is based on actual food patterns of young
children.  The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, part of USDA's Food, Nutrition, and
Consumer Services, analyzed the diets of young children and adapted existing food guidance
recommendations to meet their specific needs. The development of the Food Guide Pyramid for
Young Children and supporting educational material was a direct result of this research.  

     Center staff examined food choices and typical portion sizes reported for young children
in national food consumption surveys.  They determined that the nutrients in these foods, if eaten
in amounts recommended by the original Food Guide Pyramid, would meet children's nutritional 
needs. Since Pyramid food groups and numbers of servings resulted in a nutritionally adequate 
diet for young children, the Pyramid was used as the basis for a new graphic.  The actual foods
depicted in the new graphic were selected from foods eaten most often by children, and, in
several cases, foods that children need to eat more often.

     The "Tips for Using the Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children 2 to 6 Years Old"
booklet is based on the needs for food and nutrition information identified by parents and
caregivers of young children. Educational messages and prototype materials for the Food Guide
Pyramid for Young Children were tested with parents and caregivers in two rounds of focus
groups.  These groups were held in several different geographic regions of the United States. 
The information that was gathered from focus group participants helped to determine the
messages included in the materials and also the types of materials developed.

What is included in the booklet?

     The booklet "Tips for Using the Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children 2 to 6 Years
Old" contains a wealth of information and advice for parents and care givers, including:  

* Tips for encouraging healthful eating
* Basic information about the Food Guide Pyramid
* "Child-size" serving information
* List of foods in each group to encourage young children to eat a variety of different foods
* Suggested kitchen activities for parents to do with their young children
* Snack ideas
* Meal planning ideas
* Chart to track foods eaten over several days
* "Hands-on" food activity for home or child care centers

What do children eat?

     The foods that 2- to 6-year-old children eat most often are somewhat different from foods
eaten by older children and adults. For example, more of their meat group servings come from
ground beef and luncheon meats, and less from fish. Young children are more likely than adults
to eat ready-to-eat cereals.  Also, in comparison to older children and adults, young children are
less likely to eat lettuce salads and more likely to eat cooked green beans.  They are also more
likely to drink fruit juice than to eat whole fruit.   

     Overall, most young children are not consuming the recommended number of servings
from the vegetable, fruit, grain, and meat groups. For example, 2- to 6-year-old children eat only
about 1 « servings per day of vegetables, in comparison to the recommendation that they eat 3
servings a day.  Older children and adults also fail to eat the recommended number of servings of
vegetables, eating only about 21/2 of their recommended 3 to 5 servings per day. 

Where to find Materials

     The graphic and booklet may be downloaded from the home page of the USDA Center
for Nutrition Policy and Promotion on the World Wide Web.  The URL for the home page is
http://www.usda.gov/cnpp.  Copies may also be ordered from the Government Printing Office.

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