Graphic Design can be a powerful means of communicating. Through infographics, graphic design presents what is deemed the most important information on a particular subject and visually represents that data in a user-friendly manner. The United States Government has implored the use of graphic design on many occasions and in many instances. One of those instances includes the many rounds of food pyramids created to inform the public of how to eat healthy by presenting an infographic that indicates proportions in hopes to lead people to live healthier lifestyles.
The food pyramid lacks in many ways, but perhaps the best way to indicate that this design concept is flawed is the fact that obesity, autoimmune disease, early onset of puberty, and food allergies, are all on the rise as they have been for the last thirty years. Food lobbyists and doctors both had a significant amount of input into the design of each version of the food pyramid. Each version of the food pyramid as well as the most recent MyPlate design focused too much attention to the design aspect of the infographic, and not enough attention to the nutritional content it needed to have.
The negative implications and results of these flawed designs are many. This essay will further emphasize the design flaws Alison Perelman discusses in her article “The Pyramid Scheme: Visual Metaphors and the USDA’s Pyramid Food Guides,” by presenting the nutritional misinformation contained within the food pyramid infographics. In Perelman’s article, she gives an overview of the history of infographics used by the government to rely dietary guidelines to the public. She explains the design flaws within both the Eating Right Pyramid and MyPyramid.
She delves into each design and how each was so heavily influenced and critiqued by the public, lobbyists, government officials, and doctors, that the information contained within each graphic became more of an skewed opinion instead of facts that informed people on better eating habits. The Eating Right Pyramid went through many alterations before it was finally released. Food lobbies were outraged on how food was ranked good or bad based on the hierarchy of the design. None of the food industries wanted their industry represented anywhere near the top of the pyramid which contained fats and oils.
MyPyramid fails in design simply because there is no hierarchy present nor understandable implications of portion sizes for each food group. Perelman states that even though the newer designed pyramid was horribly designed, it made food lobbies happy, but not the end user. (Perelman, 2011) Since this article was written a new dietary guideline infographic has been released called MyPlate. While the MyPyramid design lacked in spatial orientation, MyPlate does not. It is a very simple design in the shape of a plate instead of a pyramid.
This is the first design to actually present proportions in an easy to understand way, but lacks in that it does not contain enough information. Where are the fats, oils, and sweets? This design implies that fats, oils, and sweets are to never be consumed. It is almost impossible for an American to go without eating something that contains one of those ingredients. It is unrealistic to imply that this group should not be consumed, and it should be accurately displayed within the inforgraphic with a disclaimer stating to be used in moderation.
By not including fats, oils, and sweets, the average person looking at this infographic for the first time will not be able to discern whether that food group is healthy or not. The reality is that all human beings need fats in their diet for proper bodily functions. There are healthy fats, and people do need them on a daily basis, but in moderation. None of the dietary guideline infographics created have ever included healthy fats, which are responsible for helping build“… he outer membrane of cells, and it is a principal ingredient in the digestive juice bile, in the fatty sheath that insulates nerves, and in sex hormones such as estrogen and androgen” (Sanfilippo, 2012).
The implication that all fats and cholesterol are bad led to the creation of the “fat free” era that unfortunately many people still believe to be healthy. (Reader’s Digest, 2007) Another area of concern towards all three dietary guideline infographics is the misrepresentation of grain and dairy proportions. Anything that has been popped, puffed, flaked, floured, shredded, or made into an instant form has been refined” (Sanfilippo, 2012).
The dietary recommendations state that people should increase their intake of “whole” grains, and visually represented grains to be of more importance than any other food group. “Whole” grains are just a fancier term for “refined” grains. “Whole” and “refined” can still be bleached and bound with extra “fillers” to increase the fluff of the final product. There is no evidence to support that the human body needs six to eleven servings of grains per day to properly function.
One thing the body does need full fat dairy, in moderation. MyPlate separates the dairy group completely from the actual plate in the design. This hierarchically implies that milk and dairy is not that important. Dairy is an excellent source of calcium and vitamins A, D, and K2, that is until it is skimmed and processed leaving 1% milk with little nutritional value. Milk and dairy product have to be fortified with vitamins after being processed “To prevent nutrient deficiencies across populations- deficiencies that began to appear in the Western world when processed foods were introduced” (Sanfilippo, 2012).
In short, Alison Perelman accurately touched on the design flaws of both food pyramids. Unfortunately the latest MyPlate is not much better. While there are flaws in the designs themselves, there are also major flaws in the concepts of the designs. When these infographics were created, they should have used more credible sources for nutritional information, from actual nutritional doctors, and depend less on the design input from food lobbies and their industries. It is imperative that design, especially with such a massive audience, be accurate in both visual display and information.