News
USDA Launches Online MyPlate, MyWins Challenge
for National Nutrition Month
Campaign encourages friendly competition to promote small changes for a more healthful lifestyle.
In honor of National Nutrition Month, the USDA today launched the MyPlate, MyWins Challenge, which encourages people to make small, easy changes–MyWins–to their eating and activity habits, and to build on their wins over time to achieve a more healthful lifestyle. With the MyPlate, MyWins Challenge, people can join or form a team online, then challenge team mates–friends, family, coworkers–to consume two foods from each of the MyPlate food groups a day and be active two times a day for two days. The challenge days are chosen by the team.
"The MyPlate, MyWins Challenge is a fun and social way to encourage better health with support from people around us and a little friendly competition," says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "We hope people will take the two-day challenge and realize how easy it is to make small, healthy changes, and then keep the momentum going beyond just those two days."
The challenge is part of the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion's (CNPP) new MyPlate, MyWins consumer education initiative, grounded in the most recent edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Concurrent with the challenge, CNPP is launching a MyPlate, MyWins video series combining information with inspirational stories from American families, as part of the overall effort to help people find healthful eating solutions and develop a personalized healthful eating style that fits within their overall lifestyle. Throughout the year, CNPP will continue to add more videos to the series.
"With MyPlate, MyWins, our goal is to help Americans achieve healthy eating styles that they can maintain for a lifetime of good health–small victories along the way are key and can add up to big successes," says Angie Tagtow, CNPP executive director. "We know that everything we eat and drink over time matters. The two-day challenge this month is a great way to jumpstart things. It's quick, it's easy, and it fits in at home, in classrooms, as part of workplace wellness programs, in faith-based settings, and more, helping to create a sense of community around healthy living."
How the MyPlate, MyWins Challenge Works
The MyPlate, MyWins Challenge is available to the public through CNPP's SuperTracker, a free, interactive food and physical activity tracking tool. There, anyone can create a group and invite others to join. Participants earn points for eating healthful foods and being physically active, and can compare their progress to others in the group. Group leaders can send messages of encouragement, cheer on members to earn more points, and compare progress among the participants. They can also choose from other ready-made challenges or design their own custom challenge specifically for their group. Later this month, CNPP nutritionists will host two-day MyPlate, MyWins Challenges for the public.
Find more information about MyPlate, MyWins challenges and videos at http://www.choosemyplate.gov/take-challenge.
— Source: USDA