MyPlate

Key takeaways

MyPlate belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect MyPlate to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of MyPlate from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

MyPlate is a nutrition guide that was published by the United States Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion from 2011 to 2026. It serves as a recommendation based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It replaced the USDA's MyPyramid guide on June 2, 2011, ending 19 years of USDA food pyramid diagrams. It was succeeded by The New Pyramid on January 7, 2026. MyPlate has been displayed on food packaging and used in nutrition education in the United States. The graphic depicts a place setting with a plate and glass divided into five food groups that are recommended parts of a healthy diet. This dietary recommendation combines an organized amount of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy. It is designed as a guideline for Americans to base their plate around in order to make educated food choices. ChooseMyPlate.gov showed individuals the variety of these five subgroups based on their activity levels and personal characteristics.

Background

The USDA's first dietary guidelines were published in 1894 by Wilbur Olin Atwater as a farmers' bulletin. Since then, the USDA has provided a variety of nutrition guides for the public, including the Basic 7 (1943–1956), the Basic Four (1956–1992), the Food Guide Pyramid (1992–2005), and MyPyramid (2005–2013). MyPlate was established by the USDA in 2011 to combine the recommendations of these past nutrition guides into a graphic that was easy to read. Many other governments and organizations have created nutrition guides. Some, like the United Kingdom's Eatwell Plate, the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, and the American Diabetes Association's Create Your Plate system, also use plate diagrams. In December 2018, the USDA released plans to modify the MyPlate limits on milk, sodium, school breakfast, and school lunch options. Current nutritional research continues to make new daily intake recommendations which the USDA has been adding to newer modifications of MyPlate. MyPlate was published by the USDA until January 2026, upon the introduction of the "New Pyramid", an inverted food pyramid that prioritizes non-processed foods over processed items. The pyramid places proteins, vegetables and full-fat dairy at the top, while avoiding foods that are highly processed. This approach claims to reduce chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver disease.

Guidelines MyPlate is divided into four sections of approximately 30 percent grains, 40 percent vegetables, 10 percent fruits and 20 percent protein, accompanied by a smaller circle representing dairy, such as a glass of milk or a yogurt cup. MyPlate is supplemented with additional recommendations, such as "Make half your plate fruits and vegetables", "Switch to 1% or skim milk", "Make at least half your grains whole", and "Vary your protein food choices." The guidelines also recommend portion control while still enjoying food, as well as reductions in sodium and sugar intakes. "Make half your plate fruits and vegetables" is one of the main recommendations presented through MyPlate's design. Many Americans fail to consume the proper number of fruits and vegetables or do not incorporate a variety of this particular food group. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines recommends increasing fruits and vegetable consumption due to the associated health benefits. Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, dietary fibers, and folate. These nutrients are further linked with health benefits such as protecting against a variety of diseases, promoting healthy aging, and lowering the risk of certain cancers. These prominent health benefits associated with fruits and vegetables explain the emphasis by MyPlate for making this food group take up half of one's plate. MyPlate focuses primarily on the addition of fruits and vegetables, into a diet due to the nutritional benefits associated with these food groups. This nutritional recommendation suggests including a variety of both of these food groups in order to gain maximum levels of nutrients. MyPlate suggests choosing from a mix of different colors of fruits and vegetables in order to maximize the intake of vitamins and minerals. In unveiling MyPlate, First Lady Michelle Obama said, "Parents don't have the time to measure out exactly three ounces of chicken or to look up how much rice or broccoli is in a serving. ... But we do have time to take a look at our kids' plates. ... And as long as they're eating proper portions, as long as half of their meal is fruits and vegetables alongside their lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy, then we're good. It's as simple as that." Michelle Obama's and her Let’sMove! Initiative have targeted the MyPlate icon as a positive nutritional guideline to help reduce national obesity trends. The Let’sMove Initiative has the main goal of creating a healthy life for children in order to produce a healthier population in the future. Michelle Obama's initiative has chosen to promote MyPlate and ChooseMyPlate.gov in order to help pursue the overall goal of lessening nation-wide obesity.

National strategic partners The USDA has created partnerships with a number of organizations to help promote the messages of MyPlate and spread the reach as far and wide as possible. These partners consist of companies and organizations national in scope and reach that have agreed to "promote nutrition content in the context of the entirety of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans". These companies most follow the mission stated by the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion and participate in sessions that are focused on nutritional planning techniques. The USDA has the support of numerous national partners with emphasis on grocery retailers, healthcare companies, and food chains.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with MyPlate

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what MyPlate claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to MyPlate before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about MyPlate ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of MyPlate

In research: MyPlate appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses MyPlate in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: MyPlate is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Governmental dietary guidelines in the United States, Nutritional education, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for MyPlate outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study MyPlate in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what MyPlate means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain MyPlate out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is MyPlate in simple terms?

MyPlate is a nutrition guide that was published by the United States Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion from 2011 to 2026. It serves as a recommendation based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Why does MyPlate matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study MyPlate?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on MyPlate.