'Pyramid' on a 'Plate'?

What does the 'food pyramid' remind you of? 'Healthy eating', no doubt! The pyramid has become a familiar tool for the promotion of healthy diet. Nevertheless, healthy eating is easier said than done in daily life. To make it still easier, the British and US health authorities have been presenting the healthy eating concept using the graphics of a 'plate'. It is hoped that this presentation style can help spread the healthy eating messages in a much more practical way.

(Ref.: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/)

(Ref.: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/06/about-the-eatwell-plate/)

Some might ask: is the 'plate' relevant to the promotion of healthy eating in Hong Kong? Is the 'pyramid' already out of date?

Before we have an answer for this, let's not forget that the local dining culture is very different from its British and US counterparts. Unlike the people in those regions where it is the norm to eat from a plate of one's own at a table, we share our dishes with dining companions, so the one-dish concept of the 'plate' graphics may not be relevant to most local people. Whether it is the 'pyramid' or the 'plate', nevertheless, the related healthy eating messages are all the same: a meal should consist of a major portion of grains/cereals, fruit and vegetables, a proper amount of meat, with less oil, less salt and less sugar. All in all, our diet should be well diversified and well proportioned!

Department of Health (DH) suggests that the ratio between grains/cereals (e.g. rice and noodles), vegetables and meat (and its substitutes) should be 3 : 2 : 1 (by servings); also, if snacks are needed between two meals, eat fruit instead.

To know more about…

• healthy eating, please visit 'Health Zone' at http://www.cheu.gov.hk
• 'Health@work.hk Project', please visit http://www.healthatwork.gov.hk