In the new pyramid tool, the figure climbing the stairs symbolizes fitness as well as a healthy diet and the gradual process of becoming healthy. Each colored section represents a different food group and the proportion that it should make up of a person’s diet.

A new food pyramid was released by the U.S Department of Agriculture last month. Whether students will use it is yet unknown.

Carrie Warner, St. Louis junior, saw the pyramid when it was released last month and was glad to see an emphasis on exercise to lose weight among the other changes made.

“A lot of people think dieting is enough, but it isn’t,” she said.

Because the tool emphasizes exercise along with a healthy diet, Ann Chapman, Watkins Memorial Health Center dietician, said she likes to think of it more as a food and activity pyramid.

An online aspect of the pyramid, at www.mypyramid.gov, gives users the opportunity to make a personal pyramid for them to use in regards to their own lives.

To apply the pyramid to a person’s lifestyle, the USDA developed the Web site so anyone can input their age, gender, weight and activity level to determine what they should eat and how much to exercise.

Chapman said she’d already had a positive response from the students she saw for appointments. Students are amazed when they see how they can manage their own health, she said.

There’s even a function online that allows people to track what they ate during the day and determine where they need to improve their diet, Chapman said.

The online aspect of the pyramid may be a disadvantage to those without computer skills or access, but she doesn’t think students will be at a disadvantage, she said.

In his work with student athletes, Doug Clark emphasizes the importance of eating right and exercising. The assistant coach for Kansas track and field said he thought the new pyramid, with its online presence, will make health awareness easier.

“Anything that is interactive increases the chance of it being used,” he said.

College students are surrounded by media that encourages them to eat and live unhealthy lives. Serving sizes also have increased, causing people to eat more than they would in the past, he said.

A healthy message in the media makes healthy living competitive, whether it’s an advertisement or Web site, Clark said.

Clark was also impressed by the personalized nature of the new pyramid. No longer do students have to take time to visit a dietician or trainer to see what they need to do.

Despite the improvements, Warner isn’t convinced that students will use the pyramid more. Only students who were active in a healthy lifestyle before will look into the changes, she said.

— Edited by Nikola Rowe