I chose the food pyramid as my iconic images because as a part of health education, it will be my job to focus on nutritional guidelines for patients, especially in an overall health wellness setting. Health education focuses on a variety of subtopics but most commonly nutrition is a recurring theme in this area. Typically, most individuals recognize the food pyramid, provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1992. It was formally titles the Improved Food Guide Pyramid and was initially adopted from Denmark to replace the earlier food groups classification system. The original food pyramid consisted of horizontal lines separating the six food groups (dairy, protein, vegetables, fruit, grains and fats). The horizontal lines originally served two purposes: to separate the different food groups, but also to represent the percentages of each food group that we should be consuming on a daily basis. It is based on four different levels with one or more food groups on each level, such as the level with protein and dairy for example.
This iconic image has been changed but experts agree only to improve the research that has been completed in the area of nutrition. The USDA as an updated version of the original created a newly improved food pyramid called My Pyramid in 2005. The new image was created to emphasize physical activity as well moderation all the food groups in appropriate combinations. The food pyramid has now included a new symbol, an individual on a set of stairs, to represent the physical activity aspect of maintaining good health. It also includes the measurement of food items in ounces and cups instead of the previously used measurement of servings.
http://www.lifeclinic.com/focus/nutrition/food-pyramid.asp
The food pyramid has always been a well-balanced nutritional guideline for Americans to follow to carry out a healthy lifestyle. It had changed to encompass physical activity and overall health wellness over the years since it was introduced. I believe the food pyramid to be a metonym in today's media formats. While, it can be viewed as simply a pyramid-shaped diagram consisting of pictures of each type of food group, it also took on the metonym of simply good nutrition or more generally nutrition education. It was replaced with a different idea that was closely associated with it. When one speaks about the food pyramid, it is usually an unspoken assumption that an individual is seeking to get healthier or possibly change their eating habits to include more nutritious choices. It has been associated with getting healthier and possibly happier with the new changes being made. It is an iconic image because America has been promoting this idea of a healthier lifestyle as we face more and more problems with diseases. In the United States today, the norm is larger portion sizes but with it comes problems of heart disease and possibly obesity. The United States Department of Agriculture wants Americans to refer to the pyramid as a reference tool on how to eat certain foods and particularly which foods to choose over others, which would reduce risk of diseases. More evidence of this is that the USDA now has a website for children and young kids to target Americans early before their eating habits become permanent or possibly spiral out of control. I think the USDA uses the pyramid in brochures, pamphlets, and promotional tools for nutrition education.It is now used among our public schools to help promote healthy eating. The food pyramid serves to foster the overall idea of healthiness (with the idea that following the guidelines will help createan overall healthier well-being) and has evolved since it was introduced in 1992.
Sources Used for this Assignment:
http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/index.html
http://www.healthy-eating-politics.com/usda-food-pyramid.html
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