Healthy Food Pyramid for Kids – Importance and Components

‘Normal is boring’ is apt when it comes to food. Kids expect variety and find the usual food items boring. As your children grow, you tend to get anxious about their food habits and often end up pondering whether they are getting ample food, are fed on time, and whether it’s nutritious or not.

It is necessary to provide variety, but that variety requires balance. A balanced meal or diet gives you all the essential nutrients a growing child needs. This includes necessary fats, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals, fibre, and calcium. A food pyramid for kids helps identify different food groups and the quantities required for a balanced diet. Let us look at what it is and learn how to incorporate it into our meals!

What is a Food Pyramid?

Typically, children need healthy and balanced food to complement their growing bodies. Balanced food includes proportionate amounts of food belonging to certain specific but essential food groups, such as vegetables, grains, etc. A food pyramid is used to make things easier to understand balanced food. It is a pyramid-shaped illustration that gives you a pictorial view of the various food items and their appropriate proportions that children must eat (1). In simple terms, it’s a food chart that details your children’s required amount of fats, vitamins, minerals, proteins and carbohydrates.

The topmost portion is tapering and indicates food items that must be consumed in small quantities. The lower-most broad portion of the pyramid suggests food items that can be consumed in large quantities.

A typical food pyramid (top to bottom) consists of (1):

• Top tapering layer – Food and drinks high in fat, sugar, and salt
• Second layer – Fats and oils
• Third layer – Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, and nuts
• Fourth layer – Milk, curds and other dairy products
• Fifth layer – Cereals, pulses, legumes and bread
• Sixth layer – Seasonal vegetables and fruits

Why is the Food Pyramid Important for Kids?

Growing children require carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, protein, fibre and fats. However, the amount of these essential components varies depending on age and gender. A food pyramid or chart provides general guidelines to help parents understand the needs and components of a complete and balanced diet (2). Generally, a balanced diet with adequate nutrients must include at least 3 to 5 food groups in every meal.

When in doubt, refer to a healthy food pyramid for kids, which acts as a guideline and provides complete details about the optimal quantities of food components required for your child’s healthy growth.

What Are the Key Components of a Food Pyramid?

The five primary food groups for kids that are part of the food pyramid are:

1. Grains

Children are involved in many physical activities and need carbohydrates as an energy source to help improve their cognitive skills (3). Grains, including bread and rotis, are a source of carbohydrates.

2. Vegetables

Children need minerals and vitamins. Seasonal vegetables are a good source of these nutrients. Green leafy vegetables are also rich in nutrients, and it is recommended that children include five or more green and coloured vegetables in their daily meals. Eating these vegetables also reduces the risk of obesity, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes (4).

The following table provides a list of the recommended daily servings for children:

3. Fruits

Seasonal fruits are a good source of vitamins and fibre content. Whole fruits are recommended when compared to fruit juices. They also boost immunity and prevent metabolic diseases (5).

4. Milk/Dairy

Milk and dairy products provide your child with the required amount of calcium, vitamins, and proteins. These nutrients help in bone growth and build strong teeth (6).

5. Meat/Beans/Fish

Meat, beans, and fish are rich in proteins and other nutrients essential to child growth (7). They help build and replace the tissues in the child’s body.

Additionally, the food pyramid also includes fats and oils. Fats and oils might sound unhealthy. However, not all fats fall under the harmful category. Fats occupy a small portion of the food pyramid. Children require an adequate amount of fats and oils as they are still going through a developmental phase and are involved in a lot of physical activities that require energy. Our body needs fats and oils for the following reasons:

• To protect important organs
• To absorb vitamins (8)
• To control body temperature
• To help skin cells, never and the brain (8)

Cod liver oil, olive, beans, sunflower seeds and peanuts are good sources of healthy fats. These sources provide monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that are good for your child’s health.

One vital requirement for a healthy and balanced diet is water. Ensure that your children drink plenty of water. Fluids are essential in your child’s meals, so include watermelon, coconut water, oranges, and buttermilk.

The following is the recommended water intake for kids:

• 5 to 8 years – 5 glasses (1 litre)
• 9 to12 years – 7 glasses (1.5 litres)
• 13+ years – 8 to 10 glasses (2 litres)

What is My Plate and How is It Different From the Food Pyramid?

With the growing emphasis on good health, eating healthy food became a priority. Blending an appropriate amount of varied food items can help you be healthier in the present and future. Eating nutritious food cannot be restricted to a couple of components. It is moulded by various factors such as your food preferences, stages of life, access to food items, culture, personal choices and decisions and traditions. So, a new model named MyPlate was created. It was started by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (9), an agency responsible for nutrition.

MyPlate is a colourful plate illustration that reminds people to eat a range of healthy foods and ensures that they eat less of some foods and more of others. The plate is divided into four parts and includes a separate section beside it indicating a side order.

Following are the parts of the plate (9):

• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Grains
• Proteins
• And a side order of dairy products

Let us look at the differences between a food pyramid and MyPlate:

1. Proper Indication of Food Groups

The representation of food items in a pyramidal structure indicates that some are essential and others are less important. For example, grains occupy the most significant portion, which misguided people that grains are essential, while other items like fruits and vegetables are less critical. However, in MyPlate, the plate is divided as follows:

• Fruits and vegetables – half the plate
• Grains and protein – around one-quarter of the plate
• The split portions pictorially give an idea about the required amount of nutrients

2. Easy, Simple, and Relatable Illustration

The food pyramid has varied bands indicating the food groups. This format is not very easy to comprehend. However, MyPlate follows a simple, easy, and relatable format. We use plates to eat our food, so this format of using a plate to indicate the approximate quantities of food groups is easier to understand. Every time you eat a meal, you can relate to the quantities and fix your meal accordingly.

3. The Absence of Fats and Oils

The food pyramid includes fats and oils, which are also essential body components. However, MyPlate does not include fats and oils. It is automatically understood that some food items are prepared using oils, and some items from the primary food groups contain fat. So, fats and oils are not explicitly included in the plate.

4. The Absence of Food Servings

The food pyramid indicates the number of servings from each food category to include in a meal. However, MyPlate does not indicate the number of servings. It just emphasises the quantity of each food group. It indicates how to balance the food that you take.

FAQs

1. What is the most important section of the food pyramid?

The bottom layer, or the sixth shelf from the top, consisting of fruits and vegetables, is considered the most important section of the food pyramid and should be consumed in the highest quantity. However, picking food items from different layers of the pyramid is important to create a balanced diet. 

2. Is Food Pyramid Better Than MyPlate?

The Food Pyramid and MyPlate projects aim to distinguish the important food groups required to create a daily meal. While MyPlate offers a simpler classification, the food pyramid provides information on the quantities required for different food groups. Additionally, the food group include essential fats and oils required in a diet, which is missing in the MyPlate breakdown. 

Although various guidelines exist to help you understand the nutrients needed to have a balanced meal, ensure that you enjoy your meal, drink plenty of water, and avoid overeating.

Also Read:

Make your Kids to Eat Vegetables
Nutrition for Kids and Food Plan
Fruits and Vegetables for Kids

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Sources References

1. The Food Pyramid; Government of Ireland

2. The Food Pyramid – A Guide to a Balanced Diet; Centre for Health Protection

3. Whole Grains for Kids Health; Grains and Legumes Nutrition Council

4. Helping Your Children Love Vegetables; Utah State University

5. Increasing Fruits And Vegetables In Your Child’s Diet; Rise and Shine

6. Dairy and alternatives in your diet; NHS

7. Healthy Eating for Children; NiDirect Government Services

8. Fats; Nemours Kid’s Health

9. MyPlateFoodGuide; Nemours Kid’s Health