The material I chose was a MyPlate online handout titled, “Start Simple With MyPlate Today”. Not only does this online handout show the MyPlate diagram that most of us are already familiar with, depicting portion sizes for fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy, but it also shares tips to set up a path to healthier eating. The reading level of this brochure is 52.9. As for the actual MyPlate diagram, this handout goes into further detail about each food group. For example, when discussing fruits, instead of just stating to eat more fruit, the handout clarifies even more. It is stated to focus on more whole fruits, when to implement fruit into your day for utmost convenience, and how to include fruit in your diet in more creative ways [ie. a fruit salsa on top of your protein at dinner]. This stuck out as important to me because it makes it much easier for someone who may not be very experienced with creating nutritious meals to start their path to healthier eating. Because this brochure goes into detail, it helps consumers understand why what they are eating is important and how it does not have to be difficult to implement these choices into their daily life.
Another important aspect that stuck out to me was the use of pictures. People are much more likely to respond better to something that contains both valuable information and pictures, than something that contains only valuable information. When a handout is filled with information and there is no break up of the content, whether that is by white space or more importantly, pictures, the information can feel very overwhelming. For someone who is trying to adapt a more healthy lifestyle, that alone can already be challenging, so it is important to not make the individual feel even more discouraged by putting a copious amount of information in front of them. The last thing that stuck out to me as interesting was the tips that were placed on the right hand side of the online handout. Some of these tips included, but were not limited to: how to eat less added sugars and less saturated fats. This addition can be very useful for those who lack knowledge in nutrition in healthy eating. This is because someone who may not be educated in nutrition will not know where it is easiest to cut out these additives, sometimes in places you won’t even notice they are gone! For example, it is recommended to simply choose the unsweetened applesauce over the sweetened.
As a nutrition educator, I can see myself using this online handout for clients who are described as beginners. I feel like this handout contains just enough information that it is extremely useful, but not too many words that will turn off a client from wanting to read it. I think the pictures chosen are bright and welcoming and add value to the handout. The only thing that I think this online handout lacks is some kind of competence for other cultures. When counseling clients, it is important to take into consideration that not every individual is going to want to eat the same thing, whether that is because of dietary restrictions or culture. Because the majority of the foods shared on MyPlate are more “Americanized”, I think those that are trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle but are accustomed to certain foods because of their culture, MyPlate could come off as quite biased to one kind of eating style. This does not mean that I do not think MyPlate can still be useful. However, I do not think it would be the only thing I use to counsel clients. Rather, I think I would use it to set up some kind of basic, standard practice but expand my counseling based on who it is that I am working with.
References:
1. Tumisu. supermarket cart shopping. Adobe Stock. Accessed February 20, 2022.
2. USDA. Start Simple With MyPlate Today. MyPlate.gov. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/DGA_2020-2025_StartSimple_withMyPlate_English_color.pdf. 2022. Accessed February 20, 2022.
3. Squirrel_photos. supermarket shelf blur. Adobe Stock. Accessed February 20, 2022.
4. ElasticComputeFarm. egg supermarket fresh. Adobe Stock. Accessed Feruary 20, 2022.
5. stevepb. grocery shopping supermarket. Adobe Stock. Accessed February 20, 2022.
Credits:
Created with images by Tumisu - "supermarket cart shopping" • Squirrel_photos - "supermarket shelf blur" • ElasticComputeFarm - "egg supermarket fresh" • stevepb - "grocery shopping supermarket"