The Importance of the Food Pyramid The food pyramid plays an important role in the health education of most people in the United States. It aims to guide the general healthy public on how to eat healthy to stay healthy. It includes a wide variety of foods to provide a healthy range of nutrients needed daily. The food pyramid is a great way to educate the public on how to eat healthy. The new food pyramid also includes physical activity. This is a way to universally educate people. The food pyramid is not a way to cure anything or solve immediate problems; they are guidelines that help people understand what they should eat. The food pyramid is designed for people without particular health circumstances aged 2 years and older. It's a way to promote variety in the diet and to help people understand what's good for them. The food pyramid includes foods that do not promote chronic diseases. Foods that cause chronic disease are avoided in the food pyramid. As more research is done, the food guide pyramid progresses along with it. The dietary guidelines are updated every 5 years; these are what provide all the information for the food guide pyramid. Since the first food pyramid, it has improved greatly with the research that has been done. It certainly progresses along with the most up-to-date information available. This is what is best for the public (Carole Davis). The food pyramid is wisely known today in the United States and is taught in schools as a guide to healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. The first guidelines for a healthy diet were published in the USDA's Framers Bulletin in 1894. W. O. Atwater was the primary researcher in this topic and had written these guidelines. Early guidelines suggested that the diet of American males consisted of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and “mineral substances.” Atwater also said that eating too much is bad. (Davis and Saltos, 1999). This is interesting because today this is what professionals say should be avoided. The first children's food guide “Food for Young Children” was published in 1916 by the USDA. This guide included five food groups, milk and meat, grains, vegetables and fruits, fats and fatty foods, sugars and sugary foods. (Davis and Saltos, 1999) Then in 1917 a guide was published for the general public... middle of paper... the pyramid guide is a way to educate the public in their best interests, so that they can be healthy . The food pyramid is made not to harm others but to benefit them. The food pyramid is best for most people. This promotes the interests of each individual. Works Cited: Rachels, James. © 2003 The Elements of Moral Philosophy McGraw Hill pag. 76-84, 174Carole Davis and Etta Saltos, Dietary Recommendations and How They Have Changed Over Time, 1999, from Recommendations Over Time • AIB-750 USDAhttp://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib750/aib750b.pdfEllis, Lisa. Nutrition for a healthy lifestyle. www.HLN.comUSDA's New Food Pyramid Surprisingly Removes Recommendation that People Limit Consumption of Added Sugars, www.NewsTarget.comAdams, Mike. Corruption has been exposed: Pharmaceutical companies have given grants and consulting fees to speakers who released new cholesterol guidelines that are spurring demand for statins. Posted July 15, 2004 PT by Health Ranger, www.NewsTarget.comBarnard, Neil MD, Racial Bias in Dietary Guidelines, Journal: Medical Committee for Responsible Medicine. Autumn 1997. Volume VI, number 4.Eure, Marian. New