Childhood Obesity Project

Pyramid Basics

A Guide to Using the Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children

THE FOOD GUIDE PYRAMID shows how everybody can make food choices for a healthful diet as described in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. A special Food Guide Pyramid was developed to help you teach your preschoolers what to eat to help them grow and stay healthy.

The Pyramid divides food into five major food groups: grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, and meat. The foods shown in the Pyramid are those that many children know and enjoy. Each of these food groups provides some, but not all, of the nutrients and energy children need. No one food group is more important than another. For good health and proper growth, children need to eat a variety of different foods every day.

The small tip of the Pyramid shows fats and sweets. These are foods such as salad dressings, cream, butter, margarine, sugars, soft drinks, and candies. Go easy of these foods because they have a lot of calories from fat and sugars, but few vitamins and minerals

The Food Guide Pyramid adapted for young children focuses on eating a variety of foods. As you increase the variety in your child’s diet remember that some fats are not necessary for early growth and development. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest that fat in preschoolers’ diets to be gradually reduced from current levels to the level recommended for most people (no more than 30% of total daily calories) by about 5 years of age.