How Do You Use the Food Pyramid to Help Keep Kids Healthy?

Exercise

• The modern food pyramid features a triangle with a man running up a flight of stairs on its side. This unique and important addition to the food pyramid helps to illustrate the importance of exercise to being healthy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture states that while adults should be active for at least 30 minutes a day, children should be getting closer to an hour of exercise each day. Use these guidelines to ensure your child is getting the exercise he needs to stay healthy.

Make Meals Colorful

• The new food pyramid features many different, colorful stripes, each representing a different food group. The significance of these bright stripes is found in the benefits of eating a variety of different colorful foods. Dr. Elizabeth Pivonka and Barbara Berry, authors of "5 A Day: The Better Health Cookbook," report in their book that the natural pigments that make fruits and vegetables so colorful also help protect your body from common illnesses and diseases that come with age. For example, bright red cranberries, vibrant green kiwis and dramatic purple grapes will all give your children's health a boost.

Organize Daily Food Plans

• Organize daily food plans for your child in order to ensure he is getting the right amount of food from each food group as well as a variety of different tastes and textures with each meal. The "Choose my Plate" website, developed by the United States Department of Agriculture, has a variety of different calorie-controlled food plans that are appropriate for children of different ages. Using the guidelines set forth in the food pyramid, these plans offer balanced nutrition, as well as information on the types and amount of colorful food you should offer your child. For example, the site recommends about 2,000 calories a day for 6 to 8 year olds and advises 1 1/2 cups of dark green vegetables, 5 1/2 cups of red and orange vegetables and 1 1/2 cups of beans and peas each week.

Switch to "The Plate"

• "The Plate" is a new way to look at the food pyramid and helps to encourage controlled eating by encouraging your child to eat more of some foods and less of others. The plate discourages large portions that cause weight gain, and has fruits and vegetables taking up half of it. This new way to look at nutrition suggests eating a variety of food groups at each meal, and if your child does not get enough vegetables at one meal, make sure she has some for a snack.