My Physical Activity Plate: Redesigning Recommendations

Avery D. Faigenbaum, EdD, is a Full Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at The College of New Jersey. His research interests focus on pediatric exercise, resistance training and long-term athletic development. He has co-authored numerous scientific articles, dozens of book chapters and 10 books, including Essentials of Youth Fitness. He is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Academy of Kinesiology and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Dr. Faigenbaum was awarded the Boyd Epley Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Strength and Conditioning Association for his enduring contributions to improving the health, fitness and performance of children and adolescents through innovative practices and scientific discoveries.

Earlier this year, in an article entitled From Hierarchy to Harmony: Transforming the Activity Pyramid into My Physical Activity Plate, Avery D. Faigenbaum, PhD, FACSM, a member of the ACE Scientific Advisory Panel, and his coauthors introduced an evidence–based, yet user-friendly tool for the general public to more easily understand the benefits of various types of physical activity.

The transition from Pyramid to Plate mirrors the updates made in the nutrition space, from the Food Guide Pyramid to the MyPlate graphic used in recent editions of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Physical Activity Pyramid

Let’s review the original Physical Activity Pyramid, which was first introduced in the late 1990s, so that we can better understand what Dr. Faigenbaum and his colleagues are envisioning in their update.

The base of the Pyramid includes everyday activities, like walking, climbing stairs and doing yard work. Level 2 involves aerobic and recreational activities, including running, dancing and playing soccer or basketball. Level 3 features leisure and recreational activity, such as golf and bowling, as well as strengthening and stretching activities like yoga and lifting weights. Finally, the top of the pyramid pictures those sedentary activities you should do rarely, such as watching TV or playing video games.

My Physical Activity Plate

Because of troubling trends in physical inactivity and noncommunicable disease rates, the authors state that “there is an urgent need to redesign the Activity Pyramid and refine activity recommendations.”

Their goal in creating My Physical Activity Plate was to provide a tool that “recognizes the foundational utility of unstructured physical activity; emphasizes the shared importance of strength, aerobic, mobility, and stability activities; and makes public health messaging more actionable.”

The idea behind the redesign, which you can see in the figure below, was to eliminate the hierarchical vision of the Pyramid and offer a more “harmonious approach” that helps people see the variety of options available and emphasizes behavior change. As the authors write, “Successful, sustainable changes to physical activity behavior involve creating habits, overcoming barriers, and building self-

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