[media-credit name=’Courtesy USDA’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Americans do not have to go to Egypt to run up pyramids anymore.

A revised food-guide pyramid, along with a new interactive website with individualized nutritional guidance, was released to the public Tuesday by the Department of Agriculture.

The new program, called MyPyramid, places more emphasis on exercise than the last food pyramid, according to University of Wisconsin nutritional science professor Susan Nitzke.

“There’s more emphasis on the concept that you need both … physical activity and a healthy diet to be fit and reduce the risk of chronic disease,” Nitzke said.

The new version of the food pyramid has replaced the stacked blocks with vertical stripes to represent different food groups. A set of steps with a person climbing them has also been added on the left side to indicate the importance of daily physical activity.

Food variety is symbolized by the six different colors representing the five food groups as well as liquid oils. Proportion size is represented by the width of these stripes. Fruits and vegetables combine to make up the majority of the recommendations, followed by grains.

UW nutrition outreach specialist Amy Rettammel said the new pyramid places more of an emphasis on eating nutrient-dense foods that provide more nutrients for fewer calories. For example, it promotes eating a piece of whole-wheat bread rather than a sugary donut.

Moderation is also a key element in the new food pyramid, according to the Department of Agriculture.

“The wider base stands for foods with little or no solid fats, added sugars, or caloric sweeteners — these should be selected more often to get the most nutrition from calories consumed,” stated the department’s release.

This is the first revision of the food pyramid since 1992, and the changes to the pyramid’s design are based on the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans issued in January 2005 by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture.

Congress mandates the review of the guidelines every five years, and though there is no set schedule for the food-pyramid revision, federal officials and scientists believed it was time to take into account new research and devise an updated version.

MyPyramid’s web-based system now allows individuals to determine their specific daily caloric requirements when they provide their age, sex and physical activity level into a data field. The goal was to convert the 70-page dietary guidelines into a simple and easy-to-understand graphic.

The old food pyramid was sometimes criticized for being too broad — there were only three different versions based on caloric intake for all individuals older than 2 years of age.

With the interactive website, www.mypyramid.gov, an individual can now get a personalized pyramid fit to his or her gender and age range, with a total of 12 possible pyramids.

“The 12 intake patterns are provided so that each [individual] can work with the pattern that best matches his or her calorie level based on age, sex and how active they are,” Nitzke said.

Rettammel said MyPyramid will make nutritional information much more accessible and personal for individuals who have access to the Internet.

But while the new design has its advantages for individuals, Rettammel said it presents a challenge to educators due to its advice’s specific nature.

“This makes it challenging for nutritional educators because you can’t teach a group of people a caloric intake level that’s different for everyone in the room,” Rettammel said.

To cope, Rettammel said educators will teach everyone the recommendations for the 2000-calorie intake level because that is what is consistent with food labels.

“Everyone hopes the new [food pyramid and web-based system] will catch on,” Nitzke said.