Arriving in the midst of an obesity epidemic, a new at-a-glance government guide to healthful eating is meant to remind consumers to limit heavy foods and beef up on the greens.

While no one is blaming the food pyramid for the rise in obesity rates, it has taken some criticism over the years. The pyramid, unveiled in 1992, showed a hierarchy of foods.

The federal government unveiled its new food icon, MyPlate, to serve as a reminder to help consumers make healthier food choices on June 2, 2011.

Federal officials are replacing the food pyramid with a full plate — and while experts say that the new approach is an imperfect solution, it's a vast improvement on the much-maligned My Pyramid.

PICTURES - Bye-bye pyramid, hello plate: Timeline of food guidelines. The food pyramid has been around since 1992, but nutrition experts don't seem to be mourning its demise.

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Remember the food pyramid? Well, it's history. Welcome "the plate." The First Lady, Surgeon General and the Agriculture Secretary unveiled the government's new tool to help ...

The nearly 20-year-old food pyramid will soon give way to a new symbol. ... Speculation is that dinner plate will take over for decades-old pyramid. By ABC News. May 31, 2011, 3:16 PM.

The new food pyramid is a circle.The feds have ditched the age-old triangular guide to eating well in favor of a circular plate they hope diners will load up with fruits and veggies.”As long … ...

Step aside, pyramid. Make way for the plate. The USDA is unveiling its new and improved nutrition guidelines graphic. Its designed to help consumers better visualize what it means to eat healthier.

The USDA and Michelle Obama team up to launch a new nutritional diagram. Obama says 'My Plate' should help Americans visualize what they need to eat better than the food pyramid did.