food pyramid

noun

, Ecology.

1. successive levels of predation in a food chain represented schematically as a pyramid because upper levels normally consist of decreasing numbers of larger predators.
2. a diagram that represents a healthy diet by placing food groups in a pyramid according to the number of servings from each group to be eaten every day.

food pyramid

1. A graphic representation of the structure of a food chain, depicted as a pyramid having a broad base formed by producers and tapering to a point formed by end consumers. Between successive trophic levels, total biomass decreases as energy is lost from the system.
2. See more at trophic level
3. A pyramid-shaped diagram representing a set of dietary guidelines for humans, typically based on a recommended number of servings from each of several food groups. Foods along the broadest row, at the bottom, are considered basic to human nutrition and have the highest recommended number of servings. Foods in the narrowest part, at the top, are considered to be nonessential and have the fewest number of recommended servings. In the middle row or rows are foods whose recommended servings fall between those two groups.

Word History and Origins

Origin of food pyramid¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

On Wednesday, the company bet on Italy once more with a combination of two ingredients at the heart of this country’s food pyramid: coffee and olive oil.

From New York Times

Here’s a quick quiz: What replaced the food pyramid, the government guide to healthy eating that stood for nearly 20 years?

From Seattle Times

Participants on the control diet only received general dietary advice based on the healthy eating food pyramid.

From Salon

Like most high-schoolers, he had heard of the food pyramid, “but it’s never anything that you really paid attention to,” he said.

From Washington Post

Yet many federal efforts, such as the heavily criticized and now-defunct food pyramid, have not worked.

From Washington Post